Himtteb  Ittterre&s  Cbttton 


This  edition  of  The  Legends  and  Traditions  of  a 
Northern  County  is  limited  to  600  copies,  printed 
from  type,  and  the  type  distributed. 


THE  LEGENDS  AND  TRADITIONS 

OF  A 

NORTHERN  COUNTY 


THE 
LEGENDS  AND  TRADITIONS 

OF  A 

NORTHERN  COUNTY 


JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER 


COOPERSTOWN,  MAY,  1920 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

Cbe   fmlcfterbocfcet  ptesa 

1821 


Copyright,  1921 

by 
James  Fcnimore  Cooper 

Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


THESE   SKETCHES 
ARE  DEDICATED   TO 

MY    FOUR    SONS 

IN  MEMORY  OF  MANY 

HAPPY  DAYS  SPENT  WITH  THEM 

IN 

"OLD  OTSEGO" 


FOREWORD 

THIS  is  not  a  history  nor,  strictly  speaking,  merely 
Legends  and  Traditions ;  it  is  less  than  the  former  and 
perhaps  more  than  the  latter.  The  facts  are  correctly 
stated  where  given,  the  anecdotes  and  legends  are 
repeated  as  told  to  me  by  members  of  an  older  genera- 
tion, and  my  own  experience  and  impressions  are  truly 
set  forth. 

The  whole  was  written  with  the  hope  of  preserving 
for  future  generations  of  my  family  the  life  and  the 
thoughts  of  people  living  under  conditions  which  are 
gone  forever,  and  of  creating  in  the  minds  of  its  readers 
the  atmosphere  in  which  they  lived,  struggled,  died,  and 
were  buried. 

It  is  written  in  compliance  with  repeated  requests 
of  my  four  sons,  in  fulfillment  of  my  promise  to  each 
of  them,  and  with  the  hope  that  it  may  foster  in  those 
of  my  descendants  who  may  read  it  a  love  of  the  beau- 
tiful country  with  which  their  ancestors  have  been  so 
closely  associated  for  generations.  If  it  does  this,  and 
perhaps  induces  them  to  familiarize  themselves  to  a 
greater  extent  with  the  history  of  the  town  and  county 
and  State,  I  shall  feel  that  it  is  well  done. 

J.  F.  C. 

COOPERSTOWN, 

May,  1920 


vii 


AN  INTRODUCTION 

IN  1612,  three  years  after  Hendrick  Hudson  came  to 
Albany,  and  eight  years  before  the  Pilgrims  landed  at 
Plymouth  Rock,  two  Dutch  explorers  came  up  the 
Mohawk  from  Albany  (Fort  Orange),  crossed  over  the 
hills  to  Otsego  Lake,  and  went  down  the  Susquehanna 
Valley.  They  undoubtedly  stopped  at  the  Indian 
village  which  then  occupied  the  site  of  Cooperstown, 
and  were  the  first  white  men  known  to  visit  this  coun- 
try. They  filed  a  map  of  their  wanderings  in  Amster- 
dam, where  it  was  found  a  few  years  ago. 

Probably  an  occasional  white  man,  priest  or  trader, 
visited  Otsego  Lake  during  the  next  century,  but  no 
settlement  was  attempted  until  Rev.  John  Christopher 
Hartwick,  a  Lutheran  minister,  thinking  the  lake  was 
on  his  patent,  started  one  about  1761.  He  abandoned 
it  on  finding  that  his  line  ran  a  mile  or  two  further  south. 
A  little  later,  in  1770,  came  George  Croghan,  Sir  Wm. 
Johnson's  successor  as  Indian  agent,  and  one  of  the 
patentees  of  the  tract  of  109,000  acres  on  which  the 
lake  and  town  are  situated,  and  built  a  log  house  and 
outbuildings,  and  lived  here  with  his  family  until  just 
before  the  Revolution. 


x  &n  Sntrotiuction 

During  the  war  the  red  Indians  under  Brant  and  the 
more  brutal  blue-eyed  ones  under  Butler  made  this  lonely 
spot  unsafe  for  settlers,  and  it  was  abandoned  to  the 
wilderness. 

In  1779  Gen.  Clinton  with  his  troops,  on  their  ex- 
pedition to  punish  the  Six  Nations,  camped  here  for 
several  weeks,  built  a  dam  at  the  source  of  the  Susque- 
hanna,  broke  it,  and  went  down  on  the  flood. 

Again  the  wilderness  closed  in  on  the  vestiges  of  the 
settlement,  until,  in  1785,  William  Cooper  arrived  on 
horseback  with  his  gun  and  fishing  rod.  He  camped  on 
the  spot,  returned  to  his  home  in  Burling  ton,  and  bought 
about  50,000  acres,  including  the  present  village  site. 
The  next  year  he  started  a  settlement  and  a  few  years 
later  brought  his  family  and  servants  from  Burlington, 
N.  J.,  and  lived  here  until  his  death  in  1809. 

The  town,  known  first  as  "Foot  of  the  Lake,"  then 
as  '  'Cooper ton, "  and  "Coopers  Town, "  and  for  a  short 
period  as  "Otsego,"  finally  settled  down  to  the  "Coopers- 
town"  of  to-day. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

AN  INTRODUCTION ix 

EARLY  SETTLEMENTS  AND  SETTLERS      ...  3 

LOCAL  NOMENCLATURE 17 

THE  FOUR  CORNERS 28 

GHOSTS— OURS  AND  OTHERS          ....  40 

A  GRAVEYARD  ROMANCE — A  TRAGEDY  AND  A  SCANDAL  6 1 

SOME  ABANDONED  HOUSES 78 

THE  RED — THE  BLACK — AND  THE  WHITE  MAN     .  88 

A  GREAT  HIGHWAY 113 

A  LOST  ATMOSPHERE 121 

SOME  OLD  LETTERS 136 

TODDSVILLE 195 

JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER 201 

OTSEGO  HALL 223 

INTRODUCTION  TO  A  GUIDE  IN  THE  WILDERNESS   .  233 

NOTES 

WILLIAM  COOPER 247 

SIR  WILLIAM  JOHNSON 257 

"TANGIER"  SMITH 259 


THE  LEGENDS  AND  TRADITIONS 

OF  A 

NORTHERN  COUNTY 


Heoenbs  anb  TTrabitions  of 
H  IRortbern  County 


EARLY  SETTLEMENTS  AND  SETTLERS 

THE  Colony  of  New  York  was  unlike  any  of  the  other 
colonies  and  states  in  the  manner  of  its  early  settlement 
and  the  character  of  its  land  holdings. 

When  the  Dutch  West  Indies  Company  began  the 
settlement  of  the  vast  territory,  which  eventually 
shrank  to  the  Colony  of  New  York,  it  conveyed  great 
tracts  of  land  to  patroons,  who  had  to  furnish  a  certain 
number  of  settlers  to  make  good  their  title.  Within 
the  limits  of  their  grants  these  patroons  had  great  and 
autocratic  powers. 

When  the  English  took  over  the  colony  all  these 
grants  were  confirmed  and  eventually  erected  into 
manors.  For  years  the  English  continued  to  grant 
great  tracts  of  land  as  manors.  In  this  way  Long 
Island,  Westchester  County,  and  the  Hudson  Valley 
to  a  point  above  Troy  were  settled. 

The  difference  between  ordinary  grants  of  land, 

3 


4  Hegente  of  a  ^tortfjetn  Countp 

such  as  were  made  later  in  the  Colony  of  New  York  and 
in  other  colonies,  and  manorial  grants  was  legally  a 
technical  but  in  reality  a  very  real  one.  The  Lord  of  the 
Manor  had  autocratic  power  over  his  tenants  within 
the  Manor;  he  held  courts,  civil  and  criminal;  he  could 
punish  his  tenants  as  he  had  "The  high  justice,  the 
middle  justice  and  the  low."  In  fact,  generally  speak- 
ing, he  stood  between  his  tenantry  and  the  colonial  or 
home  government.  Since  the  I3th  century,  there 
have  been  no  manors  erected  in  England.  There  were 
no  others  in  this  country  except  a  few  small  ones  in 
Maryland  and  one  doubtful  one  in  New  England,  and 
perhaps  one  or  two  in  the  south. 

The  grantees  or  lords  of  these  manors  built  their 
manor  houses  and  lived  in  royal  style  on  their  domains, 
surrounded  by  their  tenantry.  In  this  way  there  grew 
up  in  the  Colony  of  New  York  a  great  landed  aristoc- 
racy which  had  no  equal  anywhere  else  in  this  country. 
Some  of  the  manors  were  enormous.  Tangier  Smith's 
Manor  of  St.  George  was  originally  fifty  miles  wide  on 
the  ocean  and  sound  and  of  that  width  across  Long 
Island. 

The  Van  Rensselaer  Manor  at  Albany  was  twenty- 
four  miles  on  either  side  of  the  Hudson  and  forty-eight 
miles  east  and  west.  The  Patroon  had  a  fort  on  Baeren 
Island  at  the  beginning  of  his  lands  and  made  every 
boat  which  went  up  or  down  the  Hudson  salute  his  flag. 


Carlp  Settlement*  anb  Settler*  5 

There  was  an  attempt  to  create  a  manor  in  the  lower 
Mohawk  Valley,  but  its  immense  size  caused  such  an 
outcry  that  it  was  abandoned,  and  no  more  were 
created.  I  think  that,  all  told,  there  were  twelve 
manors  in  the  State,  and  one  great  patroonship  never 
erected  into  a  manor.  Later  lands  were  granted 
in  great  tracts  but  without  manorial  rights  in  the 
patentees.  The  land  grants  followed  the  important 
streams  first  and  then  filled  in  the  less  valuable  land 
lying  away  from  the  navigable  waters. 

Among  these  patents  were  those  about  Coopers- 
town.  The  great  Croghan  or  Cooper  Patent  (1769)  con- 
tained one  hundred  thousand  acres  and  nine  thousand 
additional  for  roads.  It  ran  from  about  the  point 
where  the  Oaks  Creek  joins  the  Susquehanna  up  along 
the  west  bank  of  the  river  to  Otsego  Lake;  along  the 
entire  west  shore  of  the  lake  to  where  the  little  stream 
which  runs  in  front  of  Swanswick  empties  into  the  lake ; 
then  a  long  arm  ran  off  toward  Springfield  Center  and  back 
and  the  line  ran  west  crossing  Sehuyler's  Lake,  and 
thence  west  beyond  Whar ton's  Creek  and  down  to  a 
line  running  west  from  the  village  of  Mt.  Vision  and 
south  of  Gilbert  Lake;  then  back  to  above  the  Village 
of  Hartwick  and  off  east  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

Judge  Cooper  had  about  forty-five  or  fifty  thousand 
acres  of  it  in  all;  but  immediately  parted  with  about 
fifteen  hundred. 


6  Hegenb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

In  our  neighborhood  there  were  also  the  Miller 
Patent,  upon  which  Fynmere  stands,  of  thirty  thousand 
acres;  a  part  of  this,  I  think  about  ten  thousand  acres, 
came  to  the  Bowers  family ;  the  Hartwick  Patent,  south 
of  the  Cooper  (1761),  containing  twenty-one  thousand 
five  hundred  acres;  the  Springfield  Patent,  upon  which 
Hyde  Hall  stands,  with  eighteen  thousand  acres;  the 
Butler  Patent  of  forty-seven  thousand;  the  Otego, 
with  sixty-nine  thousand  and  the  Morris  with  thirty- 
three  thousand.  In  all  of  these,  with  the  possible  ex- 
ception of  the  Miller  and  Morris,  Judge  Cooper  was 
heavily  interested. 

Some  purchasers  took  large  tracts  out  of  these 
patents,  and  they  were  the  ones  who,  with  the  paten- 
tees, built  the  great  houses  which  are  scattered  over 
the  countryside.  It  was  from  the  owners  of  these 
vast  tracts  of  land  that  the  villages  took  their  names : 
Cooperstown,  Morris,  Gilbert sville,  and  Sangerfield  got 
their  names  in  this  way. 

Of  one  of  the  patents  on  the  Susquehanna  an  interest- 
ing story  is  told.  Before  the  Colony  would  grant  any 
land,  the  would-be  purchaser  had  to  acquire  the  Indian 
title.  The  tale  runs  that  among  Sir  William  Johnson's 
Indian  guests  at  dinner  one  day  was  Red  Jacket,  a 
famous  Seneca  Chief.  Sir  William  happened  to 
be  wearing  a  new  uniform  just  received  from  Eng- 
land; Red  Jacket  eyed  it  enviously  and  the  next 


Carlp  Settlement*  anb  Settler*  7 

morning  said  to  Sir  William:  "Quider,  I  dreamed  a 
dream  last  night."  Sir  William  asked,  with  sinking 
heart,  "And  what  did  you  dream?"  "I  dreamed  that 
you  gave  me  that  red  coat  you  wore  yesterday."  Sir 
William  well  knowing  Indian  etiquette,  passed  over 
the  uniform  and  Red  Jacket  went  away  proud  and 
happy. 

In  the  fall  Sir  William  made  his  usual  annual  trip 
among  the  Indian  villages  and  spent  a  night  with  Red 
Jacket.  In  the  morning  he  said,  "Red  Jacket,  I 
dreamed  a  dream  last  night."  Poor  Red  Jacket  asked 
him  what  he  had  dreamed,  and  Sir  William  replied: 
"I  dreamed  that  you  gave  me  thirty  thousand  acres  of 
land."  Red  Jacket  said  nothing,  but  looked  solemn 
and  no  doubt  considered  the  price  high  for  the  "Red 
Coat."  However,  in  due  time  he  arrived  at  Mount 
Johnson  with  an  Indian  deed  for  30,000  acres  of  land 
which  he  handed  to  Sir  William  with  the  remark: 
"Quider,  do  not  dream  again." 

The  facts  were  forgotten,  and  the  story  was  con- 
sidered a  pretty  legend  of  Indian  customs,  until  there 
was  found,  in  the  Otsego  County  Clerk's  office,  the 
deed  of  a  lot  of  land,  described  as  being  "In  Sir  William 
Johnson's  Dreamland  Tract."  This  located  the  land 
as  lying  along  the  Susquehanna  not  far  from  Unadilla. 

There  was  one  celebrated  settlement  planned,  but 
never  made,  on  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna ;  in  1794 


8  Hesenb*  of  a  JBtortijern  Count? 

Coleridge  and  Southey,  at  Oxford,  organized  the 
' ' Pantisocracy , "  which  was  to  found  a  Utopia  on  "the 
banks  of  that  river  in  America  with  the  beauti- 
ful name — Susquehanna."  Robert  Lovell  joined  the 
Pantisocrats  and  the  plan  was  developed.  They  found 
three  enthusiastic  maidens  willing  to  venture  to  the 
Susquehanna;  Coleridge  and  Lovell  married  two  of 
them  and  Southey  became  engaged  to  the  third. 

The  men  were  to  till  the  soil  and  write;  the  women 
were  to  care  for  the  homes  and  the  children;  and  all 
were  to  converse.  Everything  was  arranged  for  ex- 
cept the  necessary  money.  To  raise  this  Coleridge 
and  Southey  lectured  and  wrote.  Unfortunately  the 
scheme  never  materialized  and  the  banks  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna only  benefitted  to  the  extent  of  having  a 
small  club  named  for  the  "Pantisocrats"  over  a  century 
later. 

Other  legends  cling  to  the  river,  and  other  settlements 
grew  up;  some  of  them  commercial  only  like  Phoenix; 
some  educational  like  Hartwick  Seminary,  founded  by 
John  Christopher  Hartwick,  the  Lutheran  minister,  in 
the  early  iQth  century  and  still  prosperous;  and  some 
like  Unadilla  beautiful  only,  alike  in  name  and  location. 

There  is  a  story  about  a  settlement  at  or  near  Una- 
dilla which  illustrates  the  rough  and  ready  life  of  the 
days  when  this  country  was  new.  They  were  the  times 
when  virile  men  lived  and  struggled,  drank,  fought,  and 


(Earlp  Settlement*  anb  Settler*  9 

died  young,  crowding  the  activities  of  a  long  life  into 
a  short  one. 

One  day,  years  ago,  I  met,  gossiping  with  the  two 
artists  P and  T ,  whose  story  I  have  told  else- 
where, a  third  old  man.  When  my  name  was  men- 
tioned, he  laughed  and  said,  "We  ought  to  be  friends 
as  my  grandfather  knew  Judge  Cooper  and  once  threw 
him  in  a  wrestling  match."  Of  course  I  was  interested 
and  he  told  me  the  following  tale :  He  came  from  Una- 
dilla  and  his  people  had  been  among  the  early  settlers 
there.  The  land  they  lived  on  and  were  cutting  out  of 
the  wilderness,  either  belonged  to  Judge  Cooper  or  he 
was  agent  for  it.  There  came  a  bad  year;  the  crops 
failed  and  the  settlers  could  not  meet  their  payments 
of  rent  or  the  installments  on  account  of  the  purchase 
of  the  land.  A  public  meeting  was  called  and,  as  the 
result,  one  of  them  was  chosen  to  go  to  Cooperstown  and 
present  their  cause  to  Judge  Cooper.  The  delegate 
was  my  informant's  grandfather.  He  started  on  the 
long,  sixty-mile  trip  to  Cooperstown,  while  the  settlers 
anxiously  waited.  He  found  Judge  Cooper  at  home 
and  stated  his  case,  no  doubt  eloquently,  for  when  he 
had  finished  the  Judge  said:  "You  think  you  are  some- 
thing of  an  athlete,  I  think  the  same  of  myself,  suppose 
we  try  a  wrestling  bout ;  if  I  throw  you,  your  clients  must 
find  a  way  to  pay ;  if ,  on  the  other  hand,  you  throw  me,  I 
will  give  you  a  receipt  in  full  for  the  whole  settlement." 


io  Hegenfc*  of  a  Jlortfjent  Count? 

The  bargain  was  struck,  the  furniture  moved  aside, 
and  the  wrestlers  closed  with  one  another. 

The  Lord  was  with  the  suffering  settlers  and  their 
champion  smote  the  Judge  hip  and  thigh  and  laid  him 
on  his  back  on  the  library  floor.  True  to  his  word,  he 
wrote  out  the  receipt  and  the  champion  returned  tri- 
umphant to  his  anxious  neighbors.  There  is  no  record 
of  what  this  fall  cost  Judge  Cooper. 

From  this  and  other  anecdotes  one  can  understand 
why  he  was  such  a  popular  and  successful  maker  of 
settlements. 

Within  the  limits  of  the  so-called  Cooper  Patent  are, 
besides  the  Village  of  Cooperstown,  Fly  Creek,  Summit, 
Toddsville,  Bourne,  Oaksville,  Schuylers  Lake,  Patent, 
Snowden,  Burlington  Green,  Burlington  Flats,  West 
Burlington,  Hell  Town,  Garretsville,  New  Lisbon, 
Welcome,  Lena,  Wharton,  Edmeston,  Lows  Mills,  and 
Fall  Bridge. 

Lows  Mills,  one  of  the  oldest  settlements  on  the 
Patent,  was  made  where  Swanswick  now  stands  and 
the  little  pond  in  front  of  it  is  the  old  mill  pond. 

The  actual  earliest  settlement,  with  the  exception 
of  Hartwick's  mistaken  beginning  on  the  Lake,  was 
George  Croghan's  at  Cooperstown;  but  this  was  aban- 
doned just  before  the  Revolutionary  War,  although 
one  at  least  of  the  buildings  was  standing  when  William 
Cooper  came  in  1785. 


ibettlentente  anb  feettler*  n 


The  following  is  a  verbatim  copy  of  the  earliest  letter 
which  I  know  of  from  a  settler  on  the  lake.  Where  the 
writer  was  living,  I  do  not  know,  but  think  that  it 
must  have  been  somewhere  near  the  locality  of  what 
was  later  called  Lows  Mills.  If  Mr.  Hicks  had  been 
half  as  ingenious  in  other  ways  as  he  was  in  misspelling, 
his  fame  would  have  lived  until  to-day  and  his  home  in 
1773  would  now  be  known  to  all. 

Lake  Otsago  October  3th  1773 
SIR 

I  imbrace  this  opertunity  to  lett  you  know  that  my 
Family  is  in  good  helth  &  wish  these  lins  will  find  you  & 
your  Lady  in  the  same  we  hed  the  new  by  a  chance  news 
paper  which  plesed  mutch  &  we  all  wish  you  joy/  the 
Settlement  gos  on  flourishing  "will  soon  becom  a  fine 
Countrey/  Year  is  a  grate  maney  welthy  men  is  willing 
to  become  Settlers  as  soon  as  they  can  know  the  seling  price 
of  the  Land/  the  Settlers  at  the  Butternuts  hath  made  a 
good  opening  &  as  taken  som  of  thir  Fameies  out  this  Sum- 
mer/ I  have  sold  my  Land  at  the  Butter  nuts  &  am  going 
to  settel  at  the  Adgo  manesty  ware  with  me  all  winter  & 
provednot  with  Folewhich  I  amsorrey  for/  Nathenel  Edwards 
as  had  him  at  the  Adego  all  this  sumor/  Thomas  Wise  will 
Inform  you  how  af  airs  goe  on  hear/  I  have  a  mind  to  com 
down  my  self  if  my  Busnis  will  permit/  I  have  had  verey 
bad  luck  this  Sumor  with  my  Cattel  I  have  lost  i  Cow  & 
4  Calve  &  i  Horse/  my  Crop  of  wheat  &  my  Ry  Sufferd 
verey  mutch  by  a  hale  storm/  the  stons  of  which  ware 
Seven  Inches  Round  but  Hope  with  the  help  of  Providence 
I  shall  make  out  til  my  next  Crop  corns  in/  Sir  if  I  can  be 
of  aney  sarvis  to  you  in  this  part  of  the  worls  I  shall  be 


12  Hejjenfcg  of  a  JBtortfjern  County 

verey  Redy  to  Sarve  you  to  the  utmost  of  my  Power/  Hear 
is  a  better  understanding  betwen  us  that  came  up  first  to 
what  it  wars  wen  we  first  com  hear  but  I  have  Sufferd 
verey  mutch  in  my  Carecter  &  Pocket/  but  I  hope  you  are 
all  convincd  of  what  as  been  said  to  be  false/  my  Wife  is 
verey  well  satsified  hear  &  Rembers  hir  Kind  Respeck  to 
your  Spous  &  all  your  f amely  so  I  remain  your 

Humbel  Sarvant 

JOHN  HICKS. 

N.B.  Thomas  Wise  as  been  at  work  this  two  Sommers 
for  Nathenel  Edwards  ware  to  hve  Land  Cleared  by  this 
fawl  according  to  agreement  but  Thomas  Seeing  no  likley- 
wood  of  his  performing  his  promis  thought  of  aplying  to 
you  to  help  him  forward  pray  dont  let  Nahanel  now  I  have 
mentend  aney  thing  concarning  him  for  I  want  now  ill 
blood. 

One  cannot  help  feeling  grateful  that  the  "hale 
stones"  have  not  grown  in  the  past  hundred  and  fifty 
years. 

The  great  patent  as  appears  on  the  old  maps  was 
eventually  subdivided  among  the  following  owners:— 
C.  P.  Low  7,500  (Prevost  and  Gary),  V.  P.  Dow  12,000, 
C.  Golden  14,000,  Vanveeler  &  Lansing  1,500,  G.  Bowne 
1,500,  Verree  1,500,  J.  Lonston  1,500,  E.  Wells  9,000, 
R.  Smith  4,000,  H.  Hill  2,000,  John  Cox  and  daughter 
6,000,  Susanna  Dilwing  6,000.  The  balance  came  to 
Judge  Cooper  and  Andrew  Craig,  of  which  1,500  acres 
went  to  one  Ellis.  Cooper  bought  out  Craig  in  1798. 
Susanna  Dilwing  and  Hill  called  their  tract  Bloomfield 


Settlements  anti  Settlers  13 

after  a  governor  of  Pennsylvania.  Eighteen  thousand 
acres  of  the  Butler  patent  was  known  as  Hillington  after 
its  owner,  one  H.  Hill. 

This  is  Mohawk  country  and  the  Indians  who  lived  at 
or  near  the  foot  of  the  lake  belonged  to  that  tribe,  the 
fiercest  and  perhaps  the  greatest  of  North  American 
Indians.  They  kept  the  eastern  door  of  the  Long 
House  of  the  Six  Nations.  Hendrick  and  Brant  were 
chiefs  of  the  tribe.  Over  Hannah's  Hill  ran  one  of  their 
war  trails  to  the  south  which  quite  recently  could  be  ea  sily 
followed.  It  was  about  eight  inches  wide  and  six  deep, 
worn  by  innumerable  moccasined  feet  travelling  single 
file  through  the  centuries. 

While  we  cannot  actually  claim  it  as  a  local  story, 
the  hero  of  an  Indian  tale,  which  Governor  Seymour 
was  fond  of  telling,  may  have  lived  in  our  Indian  village 
or  hunted  and  fished  here ;  or  helped  wear  the  trail  over 
Hannah's  Hill,  and  thus  give  it  a  sufficiently  local  color 
to  justify  repeating  it:  Among  the  tribes  which  were 
held  subject  by  the  Six  Nations  was  one  on  Long  Island. 
One  year  they  declined  to  pay  the  annual  tribute  of 
wampum.  A  council  of  the  Six  Nations  was  held  and 
a  Mohawk  chief  delegated  to  visit  the  rebellious  tribe 
and  enforce  payment.  Alone  he  went  down  through 
the  hostile  country  to  the  chief  village  of  the  subject 
tribe.  A  council  was  called  to  hear  his  message.  When 
it  was  assembled,  he  asked  who  had  advised  not  paying 


14  Hegenb*  of  a  JBtortfjent  Count? 

the  tribute.  A  chief  arose.  The  Mohawk  stepped 
up  to  him  and  brained  him  with  his  tomahawk  saying, 
' '  This  will  teach  you  not  to  disregard  the  orders  of  your 
masters."  He  returned  unmolested  to  his  native 
village  and  the  tribute  was  paid. 

Governor  Seymour,  a  great  admirer  of  the  Six  Na- 
tions, used  to  add:  "There  is  nothing  finer  in  Roman 
History." 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  repeat  here  the  follow- 
ing quotation  from  Judge  Cooper's  account  of  his 
settlement  of  this  country,  written  in  1807  for  William 
Sampson  and  published  in  Dublin  in  1810  under  the 
title  of  A  Guide  to  the  Wilderness. 


In  1785  I  visited  the  rough  and  hilly  country  of  Otsego, 
where  there  existed  not  an  inhabitant,  nor  any  trace  of  a 
road;  I  was  alone,  three  hundred  miles  from  home,  without 
bread,  meat,  or  food  of  any  kind;  fire  and  fishing  tackle 
were  my  only  means  of  subsistence.  I  caught  trout  in  the 
brook  and  roasted  them  in  the  ashes.  My  horse  fed  on  the 
grass  that  grew  by  the  edge  of  the  waters.  I  laid  me  down 
to  sleep  in  my  watch  coat,  nothing  but  the  melancholy 
Wilderness  around  me.  In  this  way  I  explored  the  country, 
formed  my  plans  of  future  settlement,  and  meditated  upon 
the  spot  where  a  place  of  trade  or  a  village  should  afterwards 
be  established. 


At  what  he  considered  the  close  of  his  career,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-four  years  he  wrote  as  follows : 


Car Ip  Settlements  anb  Settlers  15 

I  began  with  the  disadvantage  of  a  small  capital,  and 
the  encumbrance  of  a  large  family,  and  yet  I  have  already 
settled  more  acres  than  any  man  in  America.  There  are 
forty  thousand  souls  now  holding,  directly  or  indirectly, 
under  me,  and  I  trust  that  no  one  amongst  so  many  can 
justly  impute  to  me  any  act  resembling  oppression.  I  am 
now  descending  into  the  vale  of  life,  and  I  must  acknowl- 
edge that  I  look  back  with  selfcomplacency  upon  what  I 
have  done,  and  am  proud  of  having  been  an  instrument  in 
reclaiming  such  large  and  fruitful  tracts  from  the  waste  of 
the  creation.  And  I  question  whether  that  sensation  is  not 
now  a  recompense  more  grateful  to  me  than  all  the  other 
profits  I  have  reaped.  Your  good  sense  and  knowledge  of 
the  world  will  excuse  this  seeming  boast;  if  it  be  vain  (we 
all  must  have  our  vanities),  let  it  at  least  serve  to  show  that 
industry  has  its  reward,  and  age  its  pleasures,  and  be  an 
encouragement  to  others  to  persevere  and  prosper. 

One  other  quotation  has  a  personal  touch  which 
justifies  its  insertion  here.  It  is  from  a  letter  written 
by  James  Fenimore  Cooper  in  1833  or  4,  giving  an 
account  of  his  first  trip  to  Cooperstown  after  his  return 
from  Europe.  He  describes  the  changes  along  the 
Mohawk  Valley  and  says : 

On  returning  to  the  inn  I  made  an  arrangement  to  go 
in  the  same  car  with  Mrs.  Perkins  and  her  party  to  Schenec- 
tady,  and  thence  to  this  place  in  an  extra,  which  is  a  sort  of 
posting.  We  were  well  served,  no  delay,  not  longer  than 
in  France  a  hundred  miles  from  Paris,  and  got  here,  56 
miles  from  Albany,  at  six  o'clock.  This  place  is  redolent 
of  youth.  It  is  now  sixteen  years  since  I  was  here.  Roof's 


1 6  Hegetrtig  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

tavern,  which  I  remember  from  childhood  is  still  standing, 
altered  to  Murray's,  and  the  road  winds  round  it  to 
mount  to  Cherry  Valley  as  in  old  times.  But  the  house 
is  no  longer  solitary.  There  is  a  village  of  some  six  or  eight 
hundred  souls,  along  the  banks  of  the  canal.  The  bridges 
and  boats,  and  locks  give  the  spot  quite  a  Venetian  air. 
The  bridges  are  pretty  and  high,  and  boats  are  passing  al- 
most without  ceasing.  Twenty  certainly  went  by  in  the 
half  hour  I  was  on  them  this  evening.  I  have  been  up  the 
ravine  to  the  old  Frey  house.  It  looks  as  it  used  to  in  many 
respects,  and  in  many  it  is  changed  for  the  worse.  The 
mills  still  stand  before  the  door,  the  house  is,  if  anything,  as 
comfortable  and  far  finer  than  formerly,  but  there  is  a  dis- 
tillery added,  with  a  hundred  or  two  of  as  fat  hogs,  as  one 
could  wish  to  see.  I  enjoyed  this  walk  exceedingly.  It 
recalled  my  noble  looking,  warm  hearted,  witty  father,  with 
his  deep  laugh,  sweet  voice,  and  fine  rich  eye,  as  he  used  to 
lighten  the  way,  with  his  anecdotes  and  fun.  Old  Frey 
with  his  little  black  peepers,  pipe,  hearty  laugh,  broken 
English,  and  warm  welcome  was  in  the  back  ground.  I 
went  to  the  very  spot,  where  one  of  the  old  man's  slaves 
amused  Sam  and  myself  with  the  imitation  of  a  turkey,  some 
eight  and  thirty  years  since;  an  imitation  that  no  artist  has 
ever  yet  been  able  to  supplant  in  my  memory. 


LOCAL  NOMENCLATURE 

SOME  of  the  names  of  roads  and  places  about  Coopers- 
town  are  interesting  and  already  their  origin  is  lost  in 
the  past. 

Of  the  hills  we  have  "  Hannah's  Hill"  named  for 
Hannah  Cooper;  and  Mt.  Vision,  opposite  to  it,  named 
by  Judge  Cooper,  I  believe.  Down  to  the  southeast  of 
Red  Creek  we  have  Eggleston  Hill,  named  from  the 
family  that  settled  on  it;  then  moving  north,  up  the 
east  side  of  the  Red  Creek  Valley,— Hell  Hill,  from  the 
difficulty  of  climbing  it;  Murphy  Hill,  from  the  family 
that  lived  at  its  base  in  the  Cherry  Valley;  Johnnie 
Cake  Hill  and  next  Sweet  Ireland,  the  latter  the  north- 
erly part  of  Johnnie  Cake;  Sweet  Ireland  came  from 
the  settlement  of  Irish  which  has  about  disappeared, 
but  Johnnie  Cake  no  one  to-day  can  explain. 

Of  the  roads — the  Cornish  Road  runs  up  from 
Bowerstown  (Dogtown)  and  over  to  the  Cherry  Valley 
toward  the  south.  Nothing  is  known  of  the  origin  of 
this  name;  there  may  have  been  a  family  of  Cornishes 
living  on  or  near  it  when  settlers  were  few  and  the  roads 
took  the  names  of  the  adjoining  land  owners;  there  is 
no  town  of  the  name  anywhere  near;  or  the  great  beauty 

2  17 


1 8  Hesenb*  of  a  Jfrortftern  Count? 

of  the  view  from  it  may  have  recalled  to  the  mind  of  some 
traveled  resident  the  beauty  of  the  Cornice  Road  and 
who  suggested,  half  in  jest,  calling  it  that,  easily  cor- 
rupted to  Cornish. 

To  the  north  are  the  Murphy  Hill  Road  and  the 
Sweet  Ireland  Road.  From  Red  Creek  Farm  No.  2, 
there  branches  off  to  the  east  the  road  known  as 
"Pink  Street,"  why  or  wherefore  no  one  can  tell. 

"Stoney  Lonesome"  tells  its  own  tale;  it  is  in  the 
shallow  hollow  of  the  hills  between  Lentsville,  in  the 
Red  Creek  Valley,  and  the  Lake.  The  old  house  has 
completely  disappeared  and  the  roads  running  through 
the  hollow,  one  of  them  the  "Mosquito  Road,"  have 
been  abandoned  and  closed.  Going  to  it  from  either 
of  the  eastern  approaches  via  Middlefield  Center  or 
Lentsville,  the  road  passes  large  and  once  prosperous 
farmhouses,  now  abandoned  to  the  fate  which  has  al- 
ready overtaken  the  Stoney  Lonesome  house  and  many 
of  its  contemporaries. 

The  roads  grow  rougher  and  more  difficult  to  follow 
until  they  become  impassable  or  are  fenced  off.  The 
trip  across,  an  attractive  one  twenty-five  years  ago,  can 
now  only  be  made  on  foot  or  horseback.  This  secluded, 
shallow,  bowl-shaped  valley  among  the  hilltops  has  all 
the  wonderful  charm  of  the  country;  the  rough  fields 
overgrown  with  a  great  variety  of  colored  weeds;  the 
low  wooded  hills;  the  abandoned  fences  and  almost 


Hocal  J^omenclature  19 

vanished  evidences  of  occupation  unite  to  make  the 
spot  not  only  "Lonesome"  but  beautiful.  The  lay  of 
the  land  and  the  ever-changing  color  of  the  clearing  fill 
the  eye,  while  the  loneliness  and  vanishing  evidences 
of  cultivation  appeal  to  the  imagination.  One  wonders 
why,  scores  of  years  ago,  any  settler  had  the  courage  to 
clear  the  fields  and  build  the  often  great  farmhouses. 
Conditions  of  life  were  harder  then,  when  all  this  labor 
was  expended,  than  they  were  when  the  places  were 
abandoned  and  fell  to  ruins. 

Near  Stoney  Lonesome  is  Eagle  Hill,  with  a  marvel- 
ous view  of  the  country,  but  the  abandonment  of  the 
roads  and  the  growth  of  the  trees  has  long  made  it  in- 
accessible and  now  even  its  location  is  forgotten. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  lake,  almost  opposite,  and 
close  to  the  short  road  from  Cooperstown  to  Richfield, 
is  "Rum  Hill" — in  these  more  polite  and  prohibition 
days  called  "Mount  Otsego."  The  story  runs  that, 
at  a  conference  between  the  early  settlers  and  the 
Indians,  a  barrel  of  rum  figured  as  the  consideration 
of  a  proposed  sale.  A  disagreement  arose,  and  some 
one  pushed  the  barrel  over  the  edge  of  the  hill.  It 
bounded  from  ledge  to  ledge  and  finally  breaking, 
spilled  the  precious  fire  water  over  the  hillside. 

Further  to  the  west  is  Angel  Hill,  named  for  the 
family  that  once  owned  much  of  it ;  and  one  can  wander 
from  point  to  point  all  over  the  countryside  finding 


20  ICesetttig  of  a  Jlortfjern  County 

curious  and  interesting  local  names.  At  the  head  of 
the  lake  is  the  "Sleeping  Lion,"  sometimes  called  Mt. 
Wellington.  Its  original  name  was  Mt.  Millington, 
but  when  George  Clarke  built  Hyde  Hall,  he  found 
it  easy  to  change  *  'Millington"  to  "Wellington" 
in  honor  of  his  friend  and  schoolmate.  The  extreme 
southern  point  of  this  hill  is  the  "Shad  Cam," 
left  by  Judge  Cooper  to  the  youngest  Elizabeth 
Cooper  living  in  1850.  Alas,  she  never  got  it,  as  long 
before  that  date  the  owner  of  the  adjoining  land  had 
pulled  down  the  fence  and  claimed  the  point. 

The  "Shad  Cam"  was  given  its  name  by  the  Cooper 
boys  of  a  hundred  years  ago.  Even  in  those  days  the 
lake  was  infested  by  lying  fishermen.  One  of  them,  of 
Scotch  descent,  used  to  boast,  as  they  still  do,  of  the 
fishing  of  his  youth,  and  finally,  as  the  climax  of  the 
stories  of  the  past,  he  indicated  this  point  and  said, 
"Why,  boys,  in  those  days  the  shad  cam  up  to  that 
point." 

On  the  old  map  of  the  Springfield  Patent  the  "Shad 
Cam"  is  indicated  as  containing  eight  acres  and  as 
belonging  to  W.  Cooper.  In  Judge  Cooper's  "List 
of  Lands  unsold,  commencing  Nov.  i6th,  1797, "  is  the 
following  entry:  "Springfield  Pattent,  Nov.  i6th  Point 
and  Fishing  Place  in  lot  No.  32,  8  acres,  Value  250.00. " 

Opposite  the  five-mile  point  is  the  "Dugway"  with 
its  history  lost.  We  know  the  name  is  a  very  old  one  as 


Hocal  J8tomenclatttre  21 

in  the  itemized  account  kept  by  Judge  Cooper  of  the 
cost  of  the  road  on  the  east  side  of  the  lake  there  is  an 
entry  of  the  payment  of  £68, 5sh.  &  6d.  for  building  the 
' '  Fifth  Mile  of  the  road  (The  Dugway ) . ' '  This  was  in  1 790 
and  on  June  18,  1792,  it  cost  I7sh.  for  ''Mending  the 
Dugway."  The  entire  road  cost  £388,  I5sh.  &  id. 
The  State  of  New  York  had  appropriated  £400  for  the 
work  and  the  closed  account  shows  a  credit  of  nearly 
twelve  pounds. 

In  the  Oak  Creek  Valley  a  road  branches  from  the 
main  highway  just  south  of  Schuyler's  Lake;  a  mile  or 
so  up  the  road,  where  it  forks  for  Hartwick  and  Burling- 
ton, is  Pleasant  Valley,  innocuous  enough  in  appearance 
but  universally  known  as  "Hell  Town."  Among  the 
few  houses  still  standing  is  an  interesting  field  stone 
farmhouse. 

Below  Milford,  on  the  east  of  the  Susquehanna  is 
"The  Crumhorn,"  with  a  forgotten  history.  Crum- 
horn  Mountain  was  the  home  of  the  rattlesnake  fifty 
years  ago,  and  its  beautiful  lake,  which  fills  its  bowl- 
like  top,  was  then  a  great  resort  for  fishermen.  To- 
day it  is  almost  abandoned ;  the  old  tavern  on  the  shores 
of  the  lake  has  been  turned  into  a  summer  residence  and 
is  closed,  while  the  farmhouses  have  been  deserted 
and  are  falling  into  ruin. 

I  doubt  if  it  now  has  as  many  residents  as  it  did  two 
days  after  Christmas  in  the  year  1808,  when  a  con  tern- 


22  Hesente  of  a  JBtortfjern  Count? 

plative  farmer,  whose  name,  unfortunately  has  not 
survived,  comfortably  seated  by  his  fireside  while  the 
winter  winds  blew  fiercely  over  the  mountain  top, 
wrote  the  following  political  diatribe : 

After  I  had  done  my  days  work  I  set  down  by  the  fire- 
side to  shave  a  stick  that  I  had  cut  for  an  axe  handle,  my 
Wife  had  put  all  the  Children  in  bed  and  was  turning  over 
and  contriving  patches  for  their  Cloths;  as  she  seemed  much 
engaged  in  her  economical  plans  I  did  not  chuse  to  disturb 
her  by  entering  into  conversation,  my  mind  was  engaged  on 
many  subjects  it  soon  however  fixed  upon  politics  and  the 
cause  of  the  great  stagnation  of  all  kinds  of  business,  they 
say  that  Buonaparte,  King  George,  or  some  body  else  will  not 
let  our  Vessels  sail  on  the  Ocean ;  of  course  then  we  Farmers 
can  have  no  market  for  our  produce  except  we  take  it  by 
Land. 

I  know  of  no  place  we  can  go  to  in  this  way  but  Canada 
and  this  our  own  Government  forbids,  but  what  right  has 
Buonaparte  or  King  George  to  interfere  with  us  ?  it  is  true, 
I  read  in  the  Papers  that  Buonaparte  told  the  World  that 
they  should  not  trade  with  King  George,  and  that  King 
George  soon  after  told  all  those  who  were  afraid  to  trade 
with  England  upon  the  account  of  Buonaparte's  threat, 
that  they  should  not  trade  with  France  unless  they  paid 
him  for  it,  you  see  by  this  that  he  likes  Money,  the  thought 
struck  me  that  our  Rulers  ought  not  to  have  depended  upon 
the  justice  of  other  Nations  for  the  protection  of  our  rights 
for  if  Mankind  were  all  just  and  good  they  would  want  no 
rulers,  it  must  then  be  the  fault  of  our  rulers  that  we  are 
placed  in  our  present  situation,  or  rather  our  own  fault  for 
placing  them  to  rule  over  us,  who  to  say  the  least  it  appears 
are  not  capable  of  doing  it  to  our  advantage.  I  finished  my 


Hocal  J^tomemlatute  23 

axe  handle  and  an  excellent  piece  of  Timber  it  was,  and  I 
thought  if  we  were  as  careful  in  looking  for  rulers  as  we  are 
in  choosing  an  axe  handle  we  should  have  better  times,  to 
be  sure  the  timber  here  is  not  as  good  as  it  is  down  Country, 
(and  this  inferiority  for  aught  I  know  may  hold  good  in  the 
animate  as  well  as  the  inanimate  World),  but  then  we  have 
some  pretty  good  Walnut  &c.,  &c.,  we  need  not  therefore 
take  Witch  Hazel  or  Bass  Wood  unless  we  have  a  mind  to 
do  so. 
Crum  Horn  Dec.  27th.  1808. 

This  is  the  earliest  mention  of  the  name  of  which  I 
have  any  knowledge;  it  throws  no  light  on  its  origin 
but  shows  it  to  be  well  over  a  century  old.  With  many 
another  similar  document  the  above  found  its  way  into 
the  possession  of  Judge  Cooper  and  has  long  survived 
the  children  whose  clothes  were  being  patched  that 
December  night. 

There  is  laid  down  on  some  of  the  old  maps  a  narrow 
strip  of  land  marked  "  Crumhorn  Patent.'*  Perhaps  one 
of  the  patentees  was  named  "  Crumhorn.'* 

Above  Milford  on  the  same  road  are  "The  Jams," 
so  called,  I  was  told  years  ago  by  my  aunt,  Susan 
Fenimore  Cooper,  because  the  hills  have  the  appearance 
of  having  been  jammed  violently  together.  Down  the 
ravine  runs  a  little  stream  falling  from  ridge  to  ridge. 

North  of  Hannah's  Hill,  and  just  west  of  Fenimore, 
is  Mount  Ovis.  It  was  named  a  little  over  a  century 
ago,  about  1813,  by  my  grandfather,  who  kept  on  it 


24  ICesenb*  of  a  jBtortftetn  Count? 

some  of  the  first  imported  Merino  sheep.  Among 
them  was  a  famous  ram,  Sinbad,  which  was  killed  by 
falling  into  the  well. 

Papoose  Pool  is  now  little  more  than  a  swamp,  to 
the  left  of  the  River  road  just  below  its  junction  with 
the  road  to  Richfield ;  less  than  fifty  years  ago  it  was  a 
beautiful  wooded  pool,  with  the  reputation  of  being 
bottomless.  In  fact  there  was  only  a  few  feet  of  water 
and  limitless  mud.  It  is  a  quicksand  and  there  are 
stories  of  the  quite  recent  loss  of  a  farm  team  and 
wagon  in  its  depth.  No  reason  for  its  name  is  known 
to-day. 

On  the  hilltop  across  the  Susquehanna  again,  and 
below  Phoenix,  is  Mossy  Pond.  The  reason  for  its 
name  is  apparent.  Its  location  has  been  for  years  marked 
by  the  Mossy  Pond  tree,  a  great  tree  with  a  top  like 
an  inverted  umbrella.  It  still  towers  far  above  its 
mates  although  now  entirely  dead. 

Going  farther  afield;  over  in  the  Otego  Patent  we 
have  "Susie  Hole."  Who  Susie  was,  we  do  not  know, 
unless  the  Hole  belonged  to  Susanna  Dilwing  who 
owned  a  large  tract  in  the  Croghan  Patent. 

Frog  Hollow,  dear  to  the  youth  of  fifty  years  ago, 
has  vanished;  it  was  in  the  village,  to  the  east  of 
Pioneer  Street  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  south  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  There,  as  its  name  suggests,  frogs  of 
all  sizes  and  ages  could  be  found  and  separated  from 


Hocal  .Nomenclature  25 

their  hind  legs.  It  was  full  of  cat-tails,  too,  and  of 
all  swamp -growing  flowers.  It  was  a  most  popular 
playground ;  just  water  enough  to  keep  alive  frogs  and 
pollywogs  and  thoroughly  to  wet  the  feet  of  its  explorers. 

There  are  two  names,  not  quite  local,  upon  which  an 
old  map  of  1790  throws  an  interesting  light :  "  Cobles- 
kill"  and  "Schenevus."  Both  names  seem  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  streams  near  the  towns;  in  1790  one  was 
known  as  "Cobus  Kill,"  and  the  other  as  "Shineva 
Creek";  the  former  named  for  a  land  owner  and  the 
latter  apparently  the  Indian  name. 

"Twelve  Thousand"  is  a  heading  in 'the  social 
column  of  the  local  papers  which  puzzles  and  amuses 
many  readers.  I  spent  an  afternoon  trying  to  find  a 
resident  of  this  village  who  knew  the  exact  location  of 
the  place,  what  it  was  and  why  it  was  so  called.  I  met 
with  no  success  and  finally  started  out  to  hunt  it  up. 
After  a  delightful  motor  ride  and  many  inquiries  along 
the  way  I  found  that  an  indefinite  tract  of  lonely  land, 
sparsely  inhabited  and  dotted  with  deserted  houses, 
churches  and  burying  grounds,  lying  along  the  heights 
east  of  Schuyler's  Lake  was,  for  some  reason  unknown  to 
the  inhabitants,  called  "Twelve  Thousand." 

The  country  is  beautiful  and  the  views  extraordi- 
narily fine  but  there  seems  to  be  little  else  to  recommend 
it  as  a  place  in  which  to  live  and  work.  One  elderly 
resident  of  whom  we  asked  where  "Twelve  Thousand" 


26  lUgente  of  a  JBtortljern  Count? 


was,  stopped  trying  to  repair  a  fence  long  enough  to 
tell  us  that  we  were  on  it,  but  he  couldn't  give  us  any 
reason  for  the  name.  He  added  that  he  had  just  bought 
the  farm  which  we  were  on  and  that  he  thought  he  must 
have  had  an  attack  of  temporary  aberration  when  he  did 
so.  I  am  afraid  next  winter  will  remove  any  doubt 
he  may  have  as  to  his  mental  condition  when  he  bought 
his  new  home. 

On  my  return  I  looked  over  the  old  maps  to  see  if 
they  threw  any  light  on  the  name  and  found  the  ex- 
planation on  a  map  of  the  Subdivision  of  the  Great 
Croghan  or  Cooper  Patent  made  about  1770;  on  it 
appears  an  irregular  ell-shaped  piece  of  land  run- 
ning down  near  the  east  side  of  Schuyler's  Lake  and 
then  west  across  its  south  end,  and  some  distance 
below,  bearing  the  inscription  "V.  P.  Dow  &  Others, 

12000  A." 

It's  a  far  cry  from  "Pig  Alley"  of  fifty  years  ago  to 
"Prospect  Place"  of  to-day,  and  a  more  than  doubtful 
improvement  in  name.  Whoever  made  the  change  had 
a  grim  sense  of  humor  as  old  Pig  Alley  running  from 
the  back  of  the  brick  Miller  house  at  the  corner  of  Lake 
and  Pine  streets  to  Hannah's  Hill,  had  the  least  of  a 
prospect  of  any  alley,  lane,  or  street  in  the  village.  In 
old  times  when  it  climbed  the  almost  inaccessible  side 
of  Hannah's  Hill  to  the  opening  in  the  woods  cut  for 
the  view  on  the  hilltop,  it  was  a  favorite  Sunday  after- 


ILotal  Jlomenclature  27 

noon  walk  for  the  girls  and  boys  who  were  able  to  escape 
the  weekly  stroll  to  the  cemetery  and  back.  From  the 
clearing  there  was  a  wonderful  view  of  the  lake  and  its 
wooded  easterly  shore. 

Along  this  thickly  wooded  east  shore  of  the  lake  were 
many  places  which  now  are  little  more  than  names: 
"Prospect  Rock,"  with  its  beautiful  view,  now  grown 
up;  "The  Seats  of  the  Mighty,"  on  the  ledge  overlook- 
ing the  lake  just  were  "John  Woods  Clearing "  began; 
a  clearing  made  nearly  sixty  years  ago  out  of  spite,  be- 
cause Edward  Clark  wouldn't  pay  an  exorbitant  price 
for  the  land  after  a  threat  by  Wood  to  clear  it  and  spoil 
the  lake  shore.  Beyond  this  clearing  is  the  Chalet 
Farm  of  Fenimore  Cooper  and  Natty  Bumppo's  Cave, 
and  just  beyond  its  northerly  line  were  the  remains  of 
the  "Hermit's"  House  which  was  abandoned  some  sixty 
years  ago ;  only  the  cellar  is  left,  but  when  I  was  a  boy 
the  house  still  stood  in  its  little  overgrown  clearing.  It 
already  had  begun  to  fall  down,  the  floors  were  unsafe, 
and  the  name  of  the  hermit  forgotten.  Farther  north, 
and  just  above  the  Dugway  on  the  hillside  was  the 
"Hogs  Back"  where  two  ravines  came  so  close  together 
that  one  could  straddle  the  path,  with  a  foot  in  each. 
Until  quite  recently  the  finest  old  pines  on  the  lakeside 
stood  here. 


THE  FOUR  CORNERS 

THERE  are  other  four  corners  in  Cooperstown ;  many 
of  them;  there  are  also  three  and  two  corners,  and  even 
one  one  corner;  but  it  was  about  "The  Four  Corners" 
that  the  civic  and  much  of  the  social  life  of  the  town 
centered  after  the  first  struggling  years  of  its  existence. 

The  "two  corners,"  opposite  the  entrance  to  the 
Cooper  Grounds,  claims  the  distinction  of  the  center 
of  things  in  earlier  days.  Near  this  spot  was  the  old 
Indian  village,  as  was  shown  by  the  existence  of  apple 
trees  there ;  here  George  Croghan  built  his  log  home  and 
lived  for  a  few  years ;  when  General  Clinton  came  he  made 
his  headquarters  at  this  spot  and,  later,  when  William 
Cooper  built  his  first  house  in  Otsego,  he  selected  this 
place,  and  the  house  stood  where  the  gates  to  the  Cooper 
Grounds  are  now,  looking  up  Otsego  Lake,  while  on 
the  corners  opposite  were  William  Cooper's  garden  on 
the  west  and  Andrew  Craig's  on  the  east.  These 
gardens  went  through  to  Lake  Street  and  ran  east  and 
west  nearly  three  hundred  feet.  For  a  short  time 
Andrew  Craig  was  a  partner  in  the  settlement.  He 
soon,  however,  sold  out  his  interest  to  Cooper.  It  is 
probable,  too,  that  Hartwick  made  his  attempted 

28 


Jfour  Corners  29 


settlement  here  in  1762  or  63,  before  Croghan's  time. 
The  explanation  of  the  popularity  of  the  spot  probably 
is  that  from  the  time  of  the  Indians  there  was  some  kind 
of  a  clearing  here  ;  it  was  high  land  near  the  water  and 
above  all  fairly  well  hidden  from  the  lake  and  the  river. 

When  the  original  village  was  laid  out,  in  1788,  the 
westerly  line  ran  north  and  south  through  the  Four 
Corners  where  Main  and  Pioneer  streets  now  intersect 
one  another.  These  streets  were  then  known  as  Second 
and  West  streets.  It  was  really  the  westerly  line  of 
civilization.  All  traffic  came  from  the  east  in  those 
days,  and  so  when  the  Red  Lion  Inn  was  built,  on  the 
southwest  corner,  it  closed  over  half  of  the  present 
Main  Street,  leaving  only  a  narrow  road  running  out 
into  the  wilderness.  Over  this  trail  went  many  of  the 
settlers  of  places  west  of  us.  As  the  village  grew, 
buildings  lined  this  road  and  it  became  a  narrowed 
Main  Street,  and  so  remained  until  the  great  fire  of 
1862  destroyed  them  and  the  present  street  was  laid 
out  the  full  width  of  old  Main  Street. 

The  Red  Lion  marked  the  dawn  of  the  glory  of  the 
Four  Corners.  From  its  vantage  point,  across  Main 
Street,  it  filled  the  eye  of  the  approaching  traveler. 
Its  first  sign  is  said  to  have  been  painted  by  R.  R. 
Smith,  a  merchant  from  Philadelphia,  and  the  first 
Sheriff  of  Otsego  County.  Opposite,  on  the  southeast 
corner,  the  jail  was  built,  and  over  it,  entered  by  an 


30  ICegettb*  of  a  Jlortfjem  Count? 

outside  flight  of  steps  on  Main  Street,  was  the  Court 
Room.  On  the  west  side  of  West  Street,  opposite  the 
jail,  were  the  stocks  and  the  whipping  post.  It  is  more 
than  probable  that  where  the  youth  of  the  village  now 
gather  to  drink  soda  water  the  youth  of  those  times 
gathered  to  throw  vegetables  at  the  unfortunate 
occupants  of  the  stocks. 

Farther  west,  on  the  hillside  by  the  present  jail,  the 
gallows  stood,  when  needed.  Thus  all  the  imple- 
ments of  Justice  were  gathered  about  the  Four  Corners ; 
and  this  notwithstanding  Judge  Cooper's  gibe  when 
the  question  of  a  county  seat  was  first  agitated:  "The 
Court  House  for  Cooperstown,  the  jail  for  Newtown- 
Martin  (Middlefield)  and  the  gallows  for  Cherry 
Valley."  "The  Heart  of  Midlothian"  was  only  a  jail; 
the  heart  of  Cooperstown  was  encircled  by  all  the 
insignia  of  justice  and  punishment,  good  cheer  and 
death. 

Near,  if  not  on  the  northeast  corner,  was  the  Blue 
Anchor — the  rival  of  the  Red  Lion — frequented  by  the 
more  sedate  residents  and  kept  by  a  retired  sea  captain. 

Where  the  flag  pole  stands  now,  the  liberty  pole  used 
to  stand  and  here  public  meetings  were  held  and 
political  speakers  declaimed. 

The  location  should  be  dear  especially  to  the  learned 
professions;  the  Court  House  to  the  lawyers,  the  jail 
to  the  ministers,  and  the  stocks  to  the  doctors.  For 


Jfout  Corner*  31 


here,  from  the  steps  of  the  jail,  the  first  regular  preach- 
ing was  done  by  Rev.  John  MacDonald  (Scotch 
Seceder),  who  was  in  jail  for  debt  and  on  the  limits  by 
grace  of  a  friend  who  bailed  him;  and  one  of  the  first 
occupants  of  the  stocks  was  Dr.  Charles  Powers  who 
so  far  forgot  himself  as  to  put  an  emetic  in  the  punch 
supplied  at  a  ball  at  the  Red  Lion,  to  which  he  had  not 
been  invited.  He  confessed,  but  was  not  forgiven,  was 
put  in  the  stocks,  and  afterwards  banished. 

It  must  have  been  a  very  sick,  or  a  very  hard-hearted, 
crowd  of  young  people  who  could  resist  Powers  's  appeal 
for  mercy,  written  with  a  "trembling  hand,"  if  not  with  a 
'  '  penitent  heart,  '  '  and  still  existing.  It  reads  as  follows  : 

Worthy  &  much  Injured  Gentlemen  &  Ladies 
From  the  Bottom  of  my  Heart  I  sincerely  regret  my  Pre- 
sumptious,  Unhappy  &  Ungrateful  Conduct  towards  you 
on  the  Evening  of  the  4th  of  Instant  October  —  Gentlemen 
&  Ladies  will  you  do  me  the  honour  to  believe  me  when  I 
say  that  the  Tart-Emetic  I  put  into  your  Liquor  was  owing 
partly  to  Intoxication  and  partly  to  the  Insinuation  of  the 
adversary  of  Men.  It  was  not  done  from  any  Pique  or 
Prejudice  I  had  against  the  Company,  for  I  acknowledge 
you  are  a  Company  of  very  Modest  Respectable  young 
Gentlemen  and  Ladies.  I  declare  before  God  and  his  Holy 
Angels  that  what  I  did  was  done  to  have  a  little  Sport  and 
from  no  other  Motive.  I  declare  as  solemnly  that  I  had  no 
Intention  of  Injuring  the  Health  of  any  person,  for  had  I 
wanted  that  I  could  have  put  in  the  Solution  of  Corrosive 
Sublimate,  which  is  the  strongest  preparation  of  Mercury 


32  Hejjentrg  of  a  J^ort&ent  County 

which  would  have  acted  as  a  slow  but  certain  Poison.  Or  I 
might  have  put  in  Liquid  Laudanum,  a  Preparation  of 
Opium,  to  such  Quantity  that  it  would  have  thrown  you  all 
into  a  profound  sleep  from  which  'tis  not  probable  all  of  you 
would  have  awaked  both:  of  which  Medicines  are  much 
cheaper  than  the  Tart  Emetic.  It  is  needless  Gentlemen 
&  Ladies  for  me  to  be  more  particular. 

I  now  humbly  ask  the  forgiveness  of  God,  Angels  &  Men 

for  my  foolish  conduct  and  hope  and  pray  I  may  never  be 

left  to  Conduct  in  such  a  Manner  again.     Gentlemen  & 

Ladies,  I  ask  the  forgiveness  of  you  all,  and  am  willing  to 

make  all  the  retractation  I  am  able  to. 

And  now,  Gentlemen  &  Ladies,  will  you  please  to  show  so 
much  of  the  forgiving  Temper  of  the  Saviour  of  Men  as  to 
forgive  me  and  by  thus  doing  you  will  lay  me  under  the 
highest  Obligations  to  study  Gratitude  to  you  so  long  as 
God  shall  spare  my  life. 

This  from  the  penitent  Heart  and  trembling  hand 

of  CHARLES  POWERS 

Cooperstown 
Oct.  8"  1791 

Messrs.  Joseph  Griffin,  Carr,  White,  Meachem  &c  &c. 
Messrs.  Griffin,  Carr,  &c.  &c. 

An  upset  stomach  surely  dulls  the  sense  of  humor, 
as  well  as  the  spirit  of  forgiveness  and  the  appreciation 
of  great  dangers  escaped.  I  have  no  doubt  that  to 
many  of  the  revelers  the  idea  of  the  sleep  without  a 
wakening  which  might  have  followed  the  use  of  opium 
was  not  at  the  time  wholly  disagreeable. 

The  letter  opens  a  new  vision  of  the  Four  Corners  on 
that  October  night,  a  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago; 


Jfour  Corner*  33 


the  Adversary  of  Men,  whispering  in  the  ear  of  the 
country  doctor  to  use  opium  as  cheaper  than  Tart- 
Emetic;  and  had  he  yielded  to  the  tempter,  the  Red 
Lion  turned  into  a  silent  palace  of  sleeping  beauties 
and  frontier  gallants. 

The  political  activities  of  the  town  centered  at  the 
Four  Corners  for  years;  public  meetings  were  held  there 
or  in  the  adjoining  tavern  or  nearby  "  Washington 
Hall."  At  one  of  these  meetings,  held  about  1808,  the 
following  resolution  was  adopted;  slightly  changed,  it 
almost  would  have  done  for  a  meeting  held  a  few  years 
ago,  with  its  reference  to  the  "Liberty  of  the  Seas"  and 
to  trusting  our  natural  defense  to  "Gun  Boats,  Procla- 
mations, and  Armies  on  Paper." 

Peace,  and  no  Embargo  Nomination, 
here  take  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Meeting. 

FELLOW  CITIZENS, 

Since  the  most  gloomy  period  of  our  Revolution  the 
Liberty  of  our  Country  has  not  been  in  a  more  critical  situ- 
ation. The  Emperor  of  France  began  his  political  career 
by  singing  hosannas  to  the  goddess  of  Liberty,  he  now  rules 
the  Continent  of  Europe  at  the  point  of  the  Bayonet;  all 
Nations  within  his  reach  have  by  his  intrigues  and  his  Arms 
been  subjected  to  his  control:  in  pursuance  of  his  plan  of 
universal  dominion  but  under  the  specious  pretext  of  giving 
of  the  World  the  Liberty  of  the  Seas,  he  issues  decrees  in 
direct  violation  of  the  Law  of  Nations  and  of  his  solemn 
Treaty  with  this  Republic:  in  conformity  with  his  policy  if 
not  in  obedience  to  his  mandates  shall  we  then  fellow  Citizens 


34  Hegente  of  a  Jlortfjern  Countp 

by  our  nonintercourse  and  embargo  Laws  assist  him  in  ob- 
taining the  dominion  of  the  Ocean  ?  the  only  barrier  between 
him  and  universal  Empire — shall  we  cont  inue  men  in  office 
who  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  Nation  in  secret  conclave  ? — 
who  pursue  measures  which  will  inevitably  bring  our  com- 
mon Country  to  poverty  and  ruin  ? — who  will  not  or  cannot 
let  us  know  the  true  cause  of  these  measures — who  say  we 
are  upon  the  eve  of  a  War  and  commit  our  defence  to  Gun 
Boats,  Proclamations  and  Armies  on  Paper — if  not  arouse 
honest  Yeomanry  of  our  Country  with  you  under  divine 
providence  rests  the  Salvation  of  this  Nation,  if  you  are  not 
now  vigilent  and  at  your  posts  we  are  undone — we  must 
become  a  Nation  of  Slaves — arouse  then  before  it  is  too  late 
and  change  your  Rulers — a  change  we  conceive  is  absolutely 
necessary,  the  Candidates  above  nominated  are  honest  Men 
possessed  of  talents  and  information  and  who  are  not  pre- 
judiced in  favour  of  any  foreign  Nation,  they  are  American 
born  and  follow  the  precepts  of  the  immortal  Washington — 
our  forefathers  fought  and  bled  and  left  us  a  precious  Inherit- 
ance— Civil  &  Religious  Liberty — let  it  not  depreciate  in  our 
hands  but  be  transmitted  to  Posterity  as  pure  as  we  received  it. 

BENJAMIN  GILBERT  Chairman 
PETER  MAYHEW  CLARK 

It  was  here,  without  a  doubt,  that  on  July  4th,  1794, 
the  author  read  to  a  patriotic  and  appreciative  audi- 
ence: 

AN  HYMN 

Parent  of  nations!  guardian  pow'r! 

The  source  of  ev'ry  good ! 
Accept  the  homage  of  this  hour, 

Devote  to  gratitude. 


Jfour  Corner^  35 


Well  may  the  song  aspire  to  thee, 
When  freedom  is  the  theme, 

Whose  service  leaves  the  subject  free 
In  monarchy  supreme. 

O  may  the  nations  learn  of  thee 

To  rule  and  to  obey; 
Thou  giv'st  the  subjects  noblest  plea, 

Thy  laws  the  mildest  sway. 

How  sweet  the]meting  of  thy  care  ! 

How  gracious  each  behest  ! 
"Come  ye,  who  faint  and  wearied  are, 

And  I  will  give  you  rest." 

Has  not  enough  of  tyrant  sway 
Despoil'd  the  subject's  peace? 

Bid  him  to  freedom  seek  the  way, 
Ah,  bid  oppression  cease. 

Nor  wanting  be  thy  guiding  hand 
To  point  th'  important  aim; 

May  ne'er  mad  License  rule  the  land 
With  Liberty's  fair  name. 

And  0  !  by  thy  peculiar  care, 
Columbia's  guardian  chief! 

Long  to  her  wonted  int'rests  spare 
His  labours  and  his  life. 

May  wisdom  in  our  counsils  reign, 
And  union  bind  our  hearts; 

Faction  attempt  her  wiles  in  vain, 
Defeated  in  her  arts. 


36  Hegenbg  of  a  Jlortftern  Count? 

Forbid  that  freedom's  sacred  fire, 

Thus  lighted  on  our  shore, 
Should  with  abated  flame  aspire, 

Or  ever  slumber  more. 

May  firm  allegiance  e'er  await 

Protection's  mutual  arm; 
This  scorning  pow'r  unduly  great, 

That  free  from  false  alarm. 

July  4th,  1794. 

It  is  written  on  a  double  sheet  of  letter  paper,  yellow 
with  age,  but  is,  unfortunately,  unsigned.  The  hand- 
writing is  that  of  Richard  Fenimore  Cooper,  the  eldest 
child  of  Judge  Cooper,  then  in  his  nineteenth  year. 
The  wilderness  seems  to  have  turned  men's  thoughts 
to  poetry. 

Between  the  Red  Lion  and  the  jail  took  place  a 
famous  wrestling  match ;  Judge  Cooper  offered  a  lot  of 
150  acres  to  any  man  on  the  settlement  who  could  throw 
him.  He  was  finally  thrown  and  the  lot  conveyed  to 
his  conqueror.  It  was  here,  too,  that  as  he  was  leaving 
the  Court  House  after  holding  a  term  of  Court,  he  was 
attacked  by  James  Cochrane,  a  successful  political 
rival.  There  are  still  in  existence  affidavits  of  onlookers 
declaring  that  Judge  Cooper  won  the  bout.  The  cause 
of  the  attack  is  said  to  have  been  a  remark  by  Judge 
Cooper  that  Cochrane  had  "fiddled  his  way  into  Con- 


Jfour  Corners  37 


gress."     It  seems  that  while  campaigning  he  fiddled 
for  the  young  to  dance  evenings. 

Just  west  of  the  Corners  was  the  field  where  the 
Militia  paraded  and  was  drilled  when  the  martial 
spirit  of  the  town  was  aroused  before  the  War  of  1812; 
and  doubtless  it  was  the  good  cheer  of  the  Red  Lion, 
too  liberally  partaken  of  by  the  weary  fighters,  which 
inspired  an  unknown  poet,  probably  an  envious  tax- 
paying  civilian,  to  write  these  verses: 

The  Country  rings  around  with  loud  arlarms, 
And  raw  in  fields  the  rude  Militia  swarms; 
Mouths  without  hands;  maintain'd  at  vast  expense; 
In  peace  a  Charge,  in  war  a  weak  deffence; 
Stout  once  a  Month  they  march  a  blustring  band, 
And  ever,  but  in  times  of  need,  at  hand. 
This  was  the  morn  when,  issuing  on  the  guard, 
Drawn  up  in  rank  and  file  they  stood  prepared 
Of  seeming  arms  to  make  a  short  essay, 
Then  hasten  to  be  drunk,  the  business  of  the  Day. 
The  Cowards  would  have  fled,  but  that  they  knew, 
Themselves  so  many,  and  their  foes  so  few;  — 

The  local  organization  was  a  "Troop  of  Light 
Dragoons  attached  to  Brig.  General  Henry  McNeil's 
Brigade.  '  '  At  one  time  the  troop  had  seventy  members 
in  all.  Isaac  Cooper  and  Jerome  Clark  were  Lieuten- 
ants and  at  different  times  in  command. 

The  following  receipt  gives  the  name  of  the  Command- 


38  Hegenbg  of  a  JBtortftetn  Count? 

ing  Officer  in  1808  and  a  partial  list  of  the  property  of 
the  troop : 

Capt.  Van  Deer  Veer  purchased  the 

Colors  without  painting $  7.00 

Trumpet 10. — 

One  half  Clarinet 7.— 

French  Horn  belongs  to 

the  Company — given  by 
RICHARD  F.  COOPER 

The  above  articles  I  give  to  Isaac  Cooper. 
Cooperstown  Jan.  4th,  1808. 

FERD-  VANDERVEER. 

A  surviving  inventory  shows  that  there  were  three 
pair  of  spurs  among  the  seventy  horsemen. 

As  the  town  grew,  the  character  of  the  Four  Corners 
changed, — the  Post  Office  settled  near  it  and  the  local 
printing  and  newspaper  office.  In  the  latter  Thurlow 
Weed  worked  in  his  younger  days.  A  short  distance 
away  was  the  home  of  Judge  Nelson  and  opposite  the 
house  and  office  of  Dr.  Fuller.  In  time  the  Red  Lion 
retired  and  the  ' '  Eagle"  tavern  took  its  place  until  swept 
away  by  the  fire  of  1862;  logically  the  Phoenix  should 
have  succeeded,  but  instead  came  business  houses. 

The  town  became  beautiful  with  age;  Main  Street 
was  lined  with  great  overhanging  trees  and  the  side- 
walks were  broad  and  covered  with  pine  planks. 

When  the  roads  improved,  the  stages  came  and  went 


Jfout  Cornet^  39 


from  the  Four  Corners,  and  the  youth  of  the  town,  and 
always  some  of  its  elders,  gathered  at  the  Corners  to  meet 
the  coming  guest  or  "get  the  mail";  all  eyes  watched 
the  western  approach  to  see  the  stage  swing  into  Main 
Street  and  come,  with  its  four  galloping  horses,  down 
to  the  Post  Office.  At  first  it  came  from  Fort  Plain 
twenty-six  miles  away,  and  later  from  Colliers  —  seven- 
teen —  a  long  and  weary  ride  as  the  writer  remembers  it. 

The  Four  Corners  has  had  its  share  in  the  military 
glory  of  the  town;  past  this  point  doubtless  the  silent 
red  warriors  of  the  Indian  town  went  to  join  their  tribes- 
men in  the  raids  which  made  the  Iroquois  the  most 
dreaded  of  all  the  Indian  nations  ;  from  it  the  youth  of 
the  village  went  forth  to  the  wars  of  1812  and  1861,  — 
some  of  them  never  to  return. 

In  1917  again  the  village  furnished  its  splendid  quota 
of  volunteers  not  "too  proud  to  fight,"  when  all  that 
was  best  of  its  youth  answered  the  call  to  arms;  many 
of  them  to  give  their  health  or  their  lives  in  the  camps 
and  on  the  battlefields  of  France. 

It  was  a  fine  tribute  to  the  fame  of  our  village  which 
Gabriel  Hanotaux  paid  it  when  in  announcing  the  entry 
of  the  United  States  into  the  World  War,  he  declared, 
"The  spirit  of  Leatherstocking  still  lives  in  the  Amer- 
ican people,"  for  the  spirit  of  Leatherstocking  surely 
haunts  the  happy  hunting  grounds  of  the  woods  and 
lake  of  Otsego. 


GHOSTS— OURS  AND  OTHERS 

IT  is  not  true,  as  some  think,  that  ghosts  walk  only 
in  the  South.  Our  northern  land  has  its  "hants." 
Doubtless  many  a  ghost  welcomes  the  chance  to  walk 
in  a  cool  climate,  and  perhaps  this  explains  why  hardly 
a  house  in  Scotland  is  without  at  least  one  ghostly 
visitant. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  north  of  us,  at  Ticonderoga,  we 
have  the  ghost  of  the  Indian  maiden  which  used  to  be 
seen  on  the  southern  rampart,  and  which,  with  a  scream, 
throws  itself  over  to  escape  the  pursuing  officer. 

It  was  near  this  old  fort,  too,  that  the  great  ghost 
story  of  Duncan  Campbell  of  Inverawe  staged  its  last 
scene,  when,  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  in  which  he  was 
killed,  Campbell  met  on  the  bridge  the  wraith  of  his 
murdered  kinsman,  who,  years  before  in  the  tower  at 
Inverawe,  had  bade  him  good-bye  until  "We  shall  meet 
at  Ticonderoga." 

Our  local  ghosts  are  less  thrilling,  but  just  as  dear  to 
us  and  just  as  good  "hants."  Curiously  the  ghosts  of 
our  village  cling  to  the  old  part  of  the  town.  Perhaps 
they  are  stopped  there  by  the  river  on  their  way  east, 
for  ghosts,  like  witches,  cannot  cross  water. 

40 


(gfjotfte — ©ur*  anb  ©tfjer*  41 

The  oldest  of  them  is  the  Indian  chief  who  for  nearly 
a  century  and  a  half  is  known  to  have  sat  behind  the 
old  stone  wall  on  River  Street,  and  with  his  sturdy,  if 
bony  legs,  many  a  time  kicked  it  down.  For  five 
generations,  from  father  to  son,  has  the  tradition  been 
handed  down,  how,  back  of  this  wall,  with  chin  on  knees 
and  hands  clasped  around  shin  bones  sat,  amidst  his 
weapons  and  scanty  pots  and  pipes,  the  skeleton  of  a 
great  Mohawk  Chief. 

Well  I  remember  the  terrors  of  the  spot  on  dark  and 
rainy  nights.  I  suppose  because  he  was  an  Indian  was 
the  reason  why  one's  scalp  had  that  queer  feeling  and 
the  scalp  lock  seemed  to  rise  and  pull !  I  never  heard 
that  he  was  seen  to  leave  his  grave,  but  I  was  told, 
as  have  been  all  the  family,  that  no  wall  ever  had  stood, 
or  ever  would  stand,  at  that  place.  It  was  the  despair 
of  successive  owners,  wall  after  wall  was  built  and 
kicked  down,  until  the  present  heavy  one  was  put  up, 
thick  and  strong  enough,  it  was  hoped,  to  withstand  the 
feet  of  the  old  chief ;  but  even  it  is  yielding,  as  all  may 
see.  When  its  predecessor  fell,  in  my  youth,  there, 
glaring  at  the  fallen  wall,  sat  the  triumphant  old  chief, 
with  bony  chin  on  knees,  cavernous  eyes,  and  skinny 
legs ;  there  he  was  left ;  and  there  he  sits  to-day. 

Ghosts  must  love  company  for  another  has  been  seen 
in  the  old  stone  house  on  the  corner  below.  The  house 
was  built  by  Judge  Cooper  for  his  daughter  Anne,  when 


42  Hegettbg  of  a  J^orfliern  Count? 

she  married  George  Pomeroy,  well  over  a  century  ago. 
There  she  lived  for  many  years  and  grew  old.  She  was 
a  little  woman,  and  a  determined  one,  and,  tradition 
says,  prided  herself  on  her  knowledge  of  how  to  bring 
up  children.  She  put  this  knowledge  to  the  test  as  is 
shown  by  the  long  and  pathetic  line  of  little  Pomeroys, 
with  their  little  headstones  in  the  Cooper  lot  in  Christ 
Churchyard. 

In  time  came  shrinking  fortunes  until  finally  the  little 
old  woman  reluctantly  left  the  old  house — but  not  for 
good.  It  passed  into  strange  hands;  but  after  years 
returned  to  the  family,  and  evidently  old  Anne 
Pomeroy  returned  to  it  once  more.  It  was  only  occu- 
pied by  the  living  for  short  periods  and  at  long  intervals. 

On  a  November  night,  during  one  of  these  intervals,  a 
friend  of  mine  was  expecting  a  guest  by  the  evening 
train.  The  train  came,  but  the  guest  didn't  arrive  at 
his  host's,  which  was  but  a  block  from  the  old  stone 
house.  Finally  he  came,  and  explained  the  delay,  by 
saying  that  he  had  been  lost  and  would  hardly  have 
found  his  way  had  it  not  been  for  the  nice  old  lady  in 
the  stone  house  on  the  corner  below.  The  host,  with 
true  hospitality,  said  nothing  until  the  visitor  had  been 
dried  and  warmed  and  fed,  when  by  the  fireside  with 
their  pipes,  he  asked  about  the  old  lady.  His  guest 
said  that,  after  wandering  about  in  the  rain  and  fail- 
ing to  find  his  host's,  he  went  to  an  old  stone  house  on 


anb  ©tfjera  43 


the  corner,  which  seemed  to  be  closed,  but  on  knocking 
repeatedly  with  the  heavy  knocker  the  door  was  opened 
by  a  little  old  lady  in  black  with  a  candle  in  her  hand 
who  said,  in  answer  to  his  inquiry  if  "B"  lived  there, 
"No,  he  lives  in  the  house  on  the  corresponding  corner 
below";  and  he  added,  "Here  I  found  you."  Nothing 
could  convince  the  stranger  that  the  house  was  and  had 
for  a  long  time  been  unoccupied.  So  after  arguing  as 
only  smoking  clergy  can,  they  agreeed  to  settle  the  dis- 
pute by  going  to  the  house.  The  visitor  led  the  way 
to  the  stone  house.  He  admitted  that  it  did  look  un- 
occupied and,  after  long  and  lusty  knocking,  which 
brought  no  lady,  old  or  young,  to  the  door,  he  declared 
himself  puzzled,  but  still  convinced  that  even  the  ghosts 
of  Cooperstown  would  help  a  stranger.  As  both  the  liv- 
ing participants  of  this  tale  were  clergymen  its  truth 
cannot  be  questioned.  Then,  too,  passing  glimpses  of  the 
old  lady's  face  at  the  window  have  been  caught  from 
time  to  time. 

The  other  River  Street  ghost  is  even  more  distinctly 
a  Cooper  wraith,  and  it,  too,  clings  to  the  neighborhood 
of  the  old  Indian  : 

The  last  of  the  older  generation  of  occupants  of 
Byberry  Cottage  died  on  a  Good  Friday,  some  years 
ago;  she  had  been  an  invalid  for  years,  was  blind  and 
had  but  one  leg.  She  lived  in  a  wheeled  chair  and  her 
nurse  pushed  the  chair  to  Christ  Church  for  service 


44  Hesenb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

when  the  weather  was  good  and  her  patient  strong 
enough  for  the  trip.  During  service  on  the  day  of  her 
death,  a  Good  Friday,  a  member  of  the  congregation, 
who  had  the  faculty  which  the  Scotch  call  "second  sight, " 
was  amazed  to  see  the  wheeled  chair  with  its  invalid 
occupant  move  past  her  up  the  middle  aisle  of  the 
church.  Noiselessly  and  slowly  it  went;  but  no  one 
was  pushing  it.  It  seemed  to  move  of  its  own  volition. 
Usually  it  was  turned  when  it  reached  the  transepts 
and  stood  at  one  side  during  the  service,  but,  on  this 
Good  Friday,  it  moved  solemnly  up  through  the  choir 
and  seemed  to  vanish  in  the  altar  itself.  Immediately 
the  one  who  saw  the  vision  spoke  of  it.  After  service 
was  over,  it  was  announced  that  the  invalid  had  died, 
shortly  before. 

She  was  most  devout  and  her  greatest  treat  was  to 
attend  service  in  the  church  she  loved.  About  By- 
berry  Cottage,  her  home,  cling  many  stories  of  its 
original  occupants.  One  of  them,  Susan  Fenimore 
Cooper,  is  still  remembered  as  a  saint.  She  gave  her 
life,  and  most  of  her  small  fortune,  to  good  works.  It 
was  she  who  founded  the  Hospital,  the  Orphanage,  and 
the  Home  for  Old  Women,  and,  by  her  efforts  kept  them 
alive  during  the  years  of  their  struggling  youth.  She 
was  very  deaf  and  slight,  but  had  what  is  now  recog- 
nized as  great  psychic  power.  It  was  then  called 
animal  magnetism.  She  always  had  this  mysterious 


aito  ©fter*  45 


something  and  far  back  in  the  last  century  experimented 
with  it  at  the  Old  Hall. 

Her  power  was  most  extraordinary  and,  for  her 
friends  and  relatives,  she  would  exercise  it  at  any  time. 
No  material  thing  was  too  heavy  for  her  to  move.  She 
frequently,  as  a  demonstration  of  this,  would  move  an 
inverted  dining-table  with  a  heavy  man  seated  on  a  pile 
of  books  on  it.  The  heaviest  man  in  town,  old  Judge 
Sturgis,  once  took  this  strange  ride. 

She  was  deeply  religious  and  finally,  a  few  years  be- 
fore her  death  and  after  an  evening  of  experiments,  she 
heard  strange  sounds  and  thought  that  they  and  the 
spirits  which  she  thought  filled  her  room  had  come  to 
warn  her  that  the  gift  was  of  the  devil.  She  refused 
ever  again  to  exercise  it  and  a  great  opportunity  for 
scientific  study  was  lost. 

There  is  the  recollection  of  another  shadowy  visitor, 
which  used  to  be  seen  in  the  old  house  which  formerly 
stood  opposite  the  Indian's  grave.  Well  I  remember, 
when  sent  there  as  a  mere  child  to  see  the  grown-up 
daughter  of  my  dead  uncle,  Richard  Cooper,  seating 
myself  with  all  the  embarrassment  of  such  an  occasion, 
in  his  library  chair,  only  to  be  told,  with  great  excite- 
ment, not  to  sit  in  it  as  uncle  Richard  was  occupying 
it!  Truly  a  nerve-racking  experience  for  a  child  and 
one  which  greatly  enhanced  the  terrors  of  River  Street. 

There  were  in  my  youth  other  ghosts,  more  nebulous, 


46  Hegenb*  of  a  Jfrortfjern  Count? 

which  haunted  certain  houses;  one  of  them  was  down 
on  the  river  road,  but  it  has  been  exorcised ;  another,  on 
the  lake  road,  was  closely  allied  to  a  sad  tragedy  of  love 
and  death.  This  one  too  has  been  laid,  and  as  neither 
are  family  possessions  and  some  tenants  are  so  un- 
reasonable as  not  to  appreciate  rented  or  purchased 
ghosts,  I  pass  them  by. 

One  other  ghost  there  is,  a  connection,  if  not  a  rela- 
tive, and  it  I  knew  first  hand.  The  story  goes  back 
well  over  a  century  to  the  earlier  days  of  the  settlement. 
One  of  the  Coopers  married  a  noted  beauty  of  her  day, 
whose  family  had  come  from  Virginia  to  settle  on  the 
extreme  northern  portion  of  the  so-called  Cooper 
Patent.  There  are  portraits  of  her  still  hanging  on 
the  walls  of  her  one-time  homes.  They  show  a  very 
handsome,  but  rather  hard  and  proud  woman,  evi- 
dently of  great  will  power.  After  a  married  life  of 
several  years  her  first  husband  died,  in  1813,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-seven.  There  had  been  much  scandal  about 
her  husband's  friend  who  owned  and  occupied  a  great  ad- 
joining estate.  The  talk  was  not  allayed  when,  immedi- 
ately after  the  funeral,  the  widow,  Ann,  went  with  her 
admirer  to  his  home.  She  afterward  told  my  father,  a 
great  favorite  of  hers,  that  she  was  married  immedi- 
ately— but  this  has  to  do  with  a  State-wide  scandal  of 
those  days  and  not  with  ghosts. 

She  had  in  time  a  son ;  and  then  a  second  son,  who  on 


anb  ©tfjer*  47 


his  father's  death,  took  possession  of  the  great  house 
on  the  estate  and  married  another  celebrated  beauty 
and  brought  her  to  his  home.  I  doubt  if  any  house  is 
large  enough  for  an  ex-beauty  of  advanced  years,  and 
doubtless  bad  temper,  and  a  reigning  beauty,  in  the 
glory  of  her  youth. 

Whatever  the  cause  may  have  been,  Ann  was  in- 
vited to  leave  and  find  herself  a  home  elsewhere.  This 
she  did  reluctantly,  and  moved  into  her  father's  house 
a  few  miles  away.  As  she  left,  while  the  young  people 
stood  at  the  entrance  and  the  horses  waited,  she  turned 
and  with  lifted  hand  cursed  the  house  she  loved.  '  '  You 
may  drive  me  out  now,  but  I  shall  return  and  haunt  it 
forever"  —  were  her  parting  words,  as  told  to  me  by 
my  father,  and  the  tale  runs,  —  unauthenticated,  how- 
ever, —  that  she  added  :  ''May  no  woman  ever  be  happy 
in  it  again." 

Tradition  says  that  it  had  been  a  gay  and  somewhat 
wild  life  which  had  been  lived  there,  and  my  mother 
has  told  me  of  the  desperate  gaming  indulged  in  and 
how  one  of  my  great  uncles,  the  builder  and  owner  of 
"Woodside,"  after  losing  all  his  other  property  finally 
staked  and  lost  his  house. 

Years  passed;  the  great  house  was  almost  abandoned. 
Occupied  in  part  only  and  for  brief  periods  it  fell  into  decay 
and  became  a  wonderful  home  for  "hants."  Its  fame 
as  a  haunted  house  spread  through  the  countryside 


48  Hegenfc*  of  a  J^tortfjent  Count? 

and  even  reached  England.  Again  the  heir  married, 
and  again  the  bride  was  a  great  beauty  and  a  most 
gracious  woman ;  the  house  was  once  more  occupied  and 
gradually  restored;  children's  voices  resounded  through 
its  halls  and  great  rooms  and  it  saw  a  delightful  social 
life. 

Knowing  it  and  its  owners  from  my  youth,  I  was  a 
frequent  visitor  for  nearly  half  a  century.  Some  thirty 
years  ago  I  was  one  of  a  November  house  party  com- 
posed, with  one  other  exception,  of  members  of  the 
host's  family. 

The  available  rooms,  for  the  house  as  yet  had  not  all 
been  restored,  were  not  over  many  and  so  when  bed- 
time came,  I  found  myself  in  a  room  far  down  one  of  the 
corridors  which  opened  on  the  central  court  about 
which  the  house  was  built.  My  windows  looked  out 
on  the  dripping  wooded  mountainside.  By  the  light 
of  my  candle  I  saw  that  the  room  was  one  of  those  not 
yet  restored;  the  paper  in  places  hung  in  strips 
from  the  wall ;  the  big  mirror  between  the  windows  was 
without  much  of  the  silver  backing;  the  bare  floor  was 
uneven  and  a  bit  loose  in  spots.  The  door  was  at  the 
end  of  one  side  and  didn't  fasten.  At  the  other  end  of 
the  room  was  the  single  bed  and  beside  it,  balancing 
the  door,  a  great  old-fashioned  wardrobe,  which  with 
a  dressing-table  and  a  chair  were  all  the  furniture. 

After  a  look  about  I  got  into  bed  with  the  candle  on 


(gfjogte — ©ur*  anb  ©fterg  49 

the  chair  beside  me,  and  fell  asleep,  having  no  fear  at 
least  of  family  ghosts.  One  keeps  no  track  of  time 
while  sleeping,  but  I  suddenly  found  myself  wide  awake, 
with  every  sense  on  the  alert  and  that  mysterious  feel- 
ing, which  most  of  us  have  had  at  times,  that  there  was 
someone  in  the  room.  It  was  dark  as  the  plague  of  Egypt 
and  only  the  dripping  trees  and  soughing  wind  could 
be  heard,  when,  after  I  know  not  how  long,  I  heard  a 
slow  footstep  as  of  someone  approaching  from  the 
corner  of  the  room  opposite  the  door.  Slowly,  deliber- 
ately, it  came  over  the  bare  and  creaking  floor,  toward 
the  bed;  again  I  noticed  that  queer  sensation  about 
my  scalp  lock  which,  as  a  boy,  I  felt  when  passing  the 
grave  of  the  Indian  chief  late  at  night.  Flat  on  my 
back  I  lay,  motionless,  more  anxious  to  escape  atten- 
tion than  to  see  who  my  visitor  was,  and  dreading  what 
the  light  of  my  candle  might  show. 

On  came  that  awful,  deliberate  footstep  toward  the 
left  of  my  bed,  where  the  great  wardrobe  was,  until 
finally,  after  years,  it  was  beside  the  lower  part  of  the 
bed.  Then,  as  I  lay  motionless  and  expectant,  slowly 
the  bed  clothes  were  drawn  across  my  body,  not  as  if 
pulled  by  a  hand,  but  as  if  someone  in  passing  too  close 
to  the  bed  had  brushed  against  them  and  drawn  them 
slowly  off. 

Then  silence  in  the  room.  I  leaped  from  the  other 
side  of  the  bed  and  lighted  my  candle.  The  room  was 


50  Hegenb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

empty,  and  so  was  the  wardrobe.  The  door  was  closed, 
and  the  bed  clothes,  drawn  from  the  foot,  were  partially 
on  the  floor  and  partially  on  the  bedside. 

Realizing  that  ghosts  rarely  come  but  once  in  a  night, 
I  got  back  into  bed  and  fell  asleep.  Next  day,  I  said 
nothing  of  my  disturbed  night  until  evening  when  we 
were  all  gathered  about  the  fire  in  the  dim  old  book- 
lined  library.  An  English  relative  of  the  owner  of  the 
house,  who  was  himself  absent,  remarked  that  it  was 
known  in  England  as  haunted.  This,  of  course, 
brought  up  the  question  of  its  ghosts  for  discussion  and 
the  widow  of  the  last  owner  said,  "Of  course  it's 
haunted,"  and  told  what  she  had  seen  and  heard.  One 
tale  led  to  another  until  I  turned  to  my  hostess,  a  life- 
long friend  and  distant  relative,  and  said,  "M ,  I 

have  often  heard  of  the  ghosts  of  this  place  but  never 
until  last  night  did  I  see  one."  Then  I  told  my  story, 
laughingly.  I  noticed  my  hostess  looked  serious  and 
after  a  time  suggested  that  if  I  would  go  with  her 
through  the  long  dark  corridors  and  rooms  she  would 
get  some  cider;  adding  that  all  the  talk  of  ghosts  had 
made  her  a  bit  nervous. 

Hardly  had  the  library  door  closed  behind  us  when 
she  turned  to  me  and  said,  ' '  ] ,  is  that  true  ? "  I  as- 
sured her  that  it  was  absolutely;  then  she  said,  "It's 
strange,  that  is  the  haunted  room,  we  never  use  it,  but 
the  house  is  crowded  and  I  knew  you  best  aad  knew 


51 


that  you  were  familiar  with  the  house  and  so  put  you 
there  ;  it  was  old  G  -  's  dressing-room  and  my  last  nurse 
and  A  -  (her  daughter)  both  declare  that  one  even- 
ing they  saw  the  figure  of  an  old  man  in  a  yellow,  red, 
and  green  wrapper  go  down  the  corridor  ahead  of  them 
and  turn  into  that  room;  they  insisted  on  it  and  I  sent 
the  nurse  away.  Such  a  wrapper  we  have  packed  in 
the  attic;  it  belonged  to  old  G  -  ." 

Well,  the  cider  helped  a  little,  but  I  didn't  look  for- 
ward to  more  nights  in  that  room  with  anticipations  of 
joy.  I  did  my  best  to  keep  the  party  amused  and  make 
them  forget  bedtime,  with  fair  success,  but  the  un- 
avoidable hour  came  and  again  I  found  myself  alone 
with  my  candle  ;  again  my  night  was  disturbed,  but 
this  time  in  a  semi-comic  manner  and  only  indirectly 
by  ghosts,  so  let  that  story  go  until  another  time. 

Many  are  the  other  tales  of  the  old  house  told  by  its 
inmates;  one  tells  how,  in  the  dead  of  night,  the  piano 
in  the  vast  drawing-room  plays  tirelessly  ;  another  of  the 
underground  passageway,  from  the  closet  under  the  wind- 
ing  stairs  to  the  family  vault,  through  which  the  dead 
passed  back  and  forth,  safe  from  exposure  to  the 
weather.  I  remember  often  seeing  the  black  opening 
of  the  passageway,  in  the  little  closet,  but  have  heard 
that  some  more  venturesome  soul  crawled  into  it  only 
to  find  it  blocked  against  him  after  a  short  distance. 

In  old  times  when  a  member  of  the  family   died, 


52  Hegente  of  a  Jlortfjern  County 

he  didn't  go  far  from  the  house  to  find  a  new  resting 
place.  Hardly  more  than  a  stone's  throw  from  the 
front  door  is  the  family  vault,  built  in  the  hillside  where 
it  falls  to  the  lake;  it  is  a  commodious  resting  place  for 
the  dead.  Years  ago  it  was  open  to  living  and  dead 
alike;  the  doors  at  either  end  of  the  passageway  leading 
back  into  the  hillside  were  unlocked  and  often  open, 
and  access  to  the  vault  itself,  which  lay  deep  in  the 
ground,  at  right  angles  to  the  entrance,  required  only 
courage  and  curiosity.  In  it  lay,  under  stone  sar- 
cophagi, the  builder  and  some  of  his  family,  while  on 
the  floor  was  the  exposed  coffin  of  one  of  the  dead  occu- 
pants. In  those  days  it  was  the  test  of  courage  to  go 
down  into  the  vault,  at  midnight,  with  a  candle  only 
as  light.  I  remember  one  youth  who  made  the  trip 
and  failing  to  return  promptly,  we  all  went  to  look 
for  him,  and  found  him  seated  on  the  exposed  and 
cracked  coffin,  smoking,  while  to  add  to  his  comfort 
and  the  cheerfulness  of  the  occasion,  he  had  built,  with 
chips  from  the  coffin,  a  small  fire  in  the  center  of  the 
vault. 

When  the  builder  of  the  old  house  died,  his  bedroom 
and  dressing-room,  on  the  first  floor,  were  closed,  just 
as  he  left  them.  In  time  the  floors  gradually  settled, 
the  furniture  moved  toward  the  center,  and  finally 
everything  went  through  into  the  cellar.  We  often 
opened  the  door  to  look  at  the  collapsed  floor  with  the 


anb  ©tfjer*  53 


carpet  hanging  on  the  broken  beams  and  the  furniture 
piled  in  the  cellar.  We  used  the  drawing-room  for 
hand  ball  and  racquette,  and  the  proprietor  often  used 
the  entrance  hall  to  store  extra  carriages  in.  The  house 
was  always  full  of  interest  and  excitement  for  the  young, 
with  its  air  of  mystery,  its  great  size  and  beauty.  One 
of  our  greatest  architects,  Stanford  White,  said  of  it, 
that  it  was  the  most  beautiful  country  house  in  America. 

It  had  in  those  days  too  another  attraction  at  least 
for  boys  ;  it  was  overrun  by  small  snakes,  brown  with  a 
golden  collar.  One  met  them  everywhere  in  the  cor- 
ridors and  rooms,  and  low  boards  were  slipped  in  the 
bedroom  doors  to  keep  out  those  which  wandered  about 
the  long  halls.  I  remember  once  that  a  stranger  who 
was  talking  with  me  in  the  library  suddenly  became 
silent  and  a  look  of  terror  spread  over  his  face,  I  fol- 
lowed the  direction  of  this  fixed  stare  and  saw  curled 
under  a  desk,  one  of  the  larger  of  the  snakes  with  head 
erect. 

As  to  my  ghostly  visitant  the  only  question  is  of 
idenity  :  Whose  wraith  was  it  ?  I  like  to  think  that  it 
was  old  Ann's,  come  to  prove  to  me  that  she  was  keeping 
the  oath  which  she  swore  so  solemnly,  when  nearly  a 
century  before  she  was  ordered  from  her  home,  and  of 
which  she  knew  my  father  had  told  me. 

There  is  a  vision  sometimes  seen  from  the  hillside 
where  Fynmere  now  stands;  in  the  golden  haze  of 


54  Hegenb*  of  a  Jftortfjern  Count? 

the  October  late  afternoons,  when  our  beautiful  valley 
glows  softly  with  yellows  and  reds,  may  be  seen  a  row 
of  horsemen,  riding  slowly  up  the  road.  There  is  a 
space  in  their  ranks,  now  between  the  third  and  the 
fourth,  and  those  of  us  who  see  them  know  for  whom 
the  space  is  kept  by  the  silent  riders. 

SOME  OTHER  GHOSTS 

There  are  other  ghosts  that  I  have  known  besides 
the  Cooperstown  ones;  two  are  especially  interesting, 
one  I  saw  and  the  other  I  heard  about  very  directly. 

Years  ago,  in  the  old  Elk  Street  house,  I  awoke  to  find 
a  woman  standing  by  my  bedside,  about  halfway  be- 
tween the  head  and  the  foot.  She  was  looking  down 
on  me  intently.  I  always  slept,  in  those  days,  with  my 
door  open  so  as  to  hear  if  anything  happened  in  the 
house.  Opposite  one  of  my  windows,  which  had  no 
blinds  or  shutters,  was  an  old-fashioned  electric  street 
light  which  thoroughly  illuminated  my  room. 

I  was  a  very  light  sleeper.  On  this  occasion  a 
feeling  that  something  was  in  the  room  awakened  me 
and  I  turned  over;  I  had  been  lying  with  my  face  to 
the  wall,  and  there  was  a  woman,  close  to  the  bed, 
looking  down  on  me. 

She  was  so  real  that  I  thought  at  once  that  it7  was  my 
mother  and  spoke  to  her,  saying,  "  Mother,  what  do 


<gfjo*te — ©ur*  anb  ©tfjer*  55 

you  want?"  There  was  no  reply  and  no  motion;  still  I 
thought  it  human  and  concluded  it  must  be  one  of  my 
sisters  walking  in  her  sleep,  so  rising  on  my  elbow  I 
grabbed  at  the  figure  to  wake  her  up.  Although  I 
seemed  to  reach  it  I  felt  nothing,  so  reaching  farther 
forward  I  made  a  long  swing  with  my  arm,  but  again 
caught  nothing;  then  I  realized  that  my  arm  and  hand 
had  passed  through  the  figure.  It  still  stood  motion- 
less gazing  down  on  my  face.  I  fell  back  on  the  bed 
with  a  gasp,  and  after  returning  the  stare  for  a  few 
seconds,  for  the  first  time  noticing  that  I  could  see  the 
heavy  lines  of  a  closet  through  the  form,  closed  my 
eyes,  and  when  I  opened  them  again,  it  was  gone. 

Still  half  convinced  that  it  was  a  sleepwalker  I  jumped 
from  bed  and  hurried  out  into  the  hall  to  overtake  it  or 
find  who  it  was ;  no  one  was  there,  and  on  going  to  the 
different  rooms  I  found  all  the  family  safely  in  bed. 

Puzzled,  I  went  back  to  my  room  and  got  into  bed, 
then  I  noticed  that  the  dark  lines  of  the  closet  back  of 
where  the  figure  had  been,  and  which  I  had  seen 
through  it,  indicated  that  it  had  stood  much  higher 
than  the  ordinary  human  form. 

The  other  ghost  is  one  of  the  kind  now  explained  by 
men  of  science  on  the  theory  of  telepathy. 

There  were  in  Albany  some  years  ago  two  men,  of 
approximately  the  same  age,  one  a  sculptor  and  the 
other  a  painter.  They  were  unlike  in  all  except  age 


56  Hesenbg  of  a  JHortfjern  Count? 

and  dignity  of  appearance.  The  sculptor,  P ,  was 

perhaps  the  greatest  of  his  time  in  the  country,  pros- 
perous, honored,  and  exceedingly  handsome.  He  was 
very  tall  with  a  ruddy  complexion  and  wonderful  white 

hair  and  beard.  The  painter,  T ,  while  loving  his 

art,  was  unsuccessful.  All  his  life  he  had  struggled  to 
accomplish  what  his  friend  had  won  easily;  but  failed. 
He  was  a  smaller  and  a  dark  man.  Almost  every  day 
for  years  they  met  in  the  local  art  store,  and  in  its  gal- 
lery talked  over  many  things  and  criticized  the  pictures. 

I  knew  them  well,  especially  P ,  who  came  from 

Otsego  County.  Quite  frequently  I  stopped  in  and 
talked  with  them. 

Finally  a  morning  came  when  P was  not  there. 

T waited;  and  came  again;  but  P never  re- 
turned to  the  gallery,  and,  after  a  few  days,  T also 

disappeared.  He  lived  in  the  country  some  miles 
below  Albany. 

About  the  time  of  their  usual  meeting  one  morning, 

the  news  came  that  P had  died  at  nine  o'clock. 

The  proprietor  of  the  store  took  a  horse  and  wagon  and 

drove  to  T 's  house  to  tell  him  of  his  friend's  death. 

Poor  T was  lying  ill  on  his  bed  and  when  he  saw 

the  art  dealer  come  into  the  room,  he  said,  "I  know 

what  you  have  come  for,  P is  dead.  He  died 

at  nine  o'clock  this  morning."  The  dealer,  Surprised 
that  anyone  should  have  hurried  out  to  break  the  news, 


anb  ©tfjer*  57 

answered :  ' '  Who  told  you  ? "  T replied :  ' '  He  did ; 

at  nine  o'clock  this  morning,  he  came  into  the  room 
and  stood  by  my  bed,  where  you  do  now,  and  said  to 

me:  'T ,  I'm  going;  I  have  come  to  say  good-bye 

to  you.'" 

This  was  told  to  me  at  the  time  by  the  art  dealer. 

T lingered  for  a  while  and  then  joined  his  more 

successful  friend. 

There  is  at  Cooperstown  another  house  with  its 
ghostly  visitant,  unless  recently  exorcised.  It  is  the 
oldest  brick  house  in  the  village  where,  years  ago,  the 
owner  smothered  his  wife  with  a  pillow,  and  where, 
when  conditions  are  right,  muffled  screams  and  groans 
were  frequently  heard. 

I  may  have  forgotten  some  of  my  genial  ghost  friends ; 
if  so,  I  ask  their  forgiveness,  and  trust  that  they  will 
quietly  ignore  the  oversight. 

Of  course  there  are  the  Witch  Trees,  but  they  are  for 
the  children  rather  than  the  grown-ups.  Here  and 
there  one  sees  them — tall  and  lanky;  and  always  pressing 
toward  the  east.  They  look  like  skinny  old  women, 
bent  with  age  and  the  constant  endeavor  to  drag  their 
heavy  feet  eastward.  For  years  I  have  watched  one, 
but  as  yet  have  not  seen  it  make  any  progress.  Per- 
haps they  are  doomed  to  hopeless  and  endless  endeavor 
as  a  punishment  for  some  crime  when  they  were  living 
women. 


58  Eegenbg  of  a  JBtortfjern  Count? 

Clinging  to  some  of  the  houses  and  localities  are 
stories  of  other  things  than  ghosts  which  will  bear  re- 
peating here;  as  the  tale  of  the  Wandering  Jew  and  the 
stories  of  the  gay  revelers  whose  wraiths  must  still 
frequent  some  of  the  older  houses. 

There  was  great  religious  toleration  in  these  frontier 
settlements.  It  has  been  said  truthfully,  that  in  the 
colony  of  New  York  no  one  ever  was  persecuted  for 
his  religious  belief.  Here,  at  Cooperstown,  all  de- 
nominations lived  in  harmony  and  worshiped  together 
for  a  time — and  then  were  buried  in  the  same  graveyard. 

For  years  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Presbyterian 
burying  ground  lay  a  Jew.  His  stone  bore  an  inscrip- 
tion in  Hebrew  and  the  date  of  his  death  was  given  in 
the  Hebraic  Chronology.  Who  he  was,  when  he  was 
buried,  and  why  he  selected  the  coldest  corner  of  the 
blue  Presbyterian  churchyard  to  rest  in  no  one  knew. 
Nothing  is  known  about  him.  For  a  century  he  lay  in 
his  neglected  grave,  visited  occasionally  by  a  curious 
resident  or  an  inquisitive  stranger  in  search  of  the 
famous  epitaph : 

"  Lord  she  is  thin,1  and  not  our  own 

Thou  has  not  done  us  wrong 
We  thank  the  for  the  precious  loan 
Afforded  us  so  long."  f 

1  Unfortunately,  "  Susannah  the  wife  of  Mr  Perez  Ensign  who  died 
July  18*1?  1825"  was  very  thin. 


anb  ©t&erg  59 


His  presence  among  the  Presbyterians  always  excited 
wonder  and  the  inscription  the  interest  of  tourist  and 
resident  alike.  One  morning  his  grave  stone  was  missed 
and  all  evidence  of  his  long  rest  in  the  burying  ground 
had  vanished  ;  a  careful  search  was  made  but  not  a  trace 
of  it  could  be  found  and  to  this  day  the  mystery  of  its 
disappearance  has  never  been  explained  —  unless  he 
was  the  Wandering  Jew,  and  after  resting  his  allotted 
period  in  our  graveyard  picked  up  his  stone  and 
started  on  his  restless  way. 

The  contrasts  of  life  are  great;  from  the  graveyard 
we  go  to  the  country  house  of  a  century  ago  ;  about  the 
time  when  the  Jew  appeard  in  the  churchyard,  three 
families  arrived  from  the  Bahama  Islands  and  settled 
on  land  along  the  Susquehanna,  south  of  the  village. 
They  each  built  a  large  and  fine  colonial  house.  Years 
later  one  of  these  was  destroyed  by  fire  and  one  was 
abandoned  and  is  now  a  mere  shell  which  a  few  more 
winters  will  level  with  the  ground,  but  the  third  still 
stands  looking  across  the  valley,  with  its  classical 
portico.  It  is  practically  as  it  was  a  century  ago  — 
dignified  and  beautiful. 

The  builder,  tradition  says,  ran  away  with  his  em- 
ployer's daughter  and  they  built  their  new  home  here. 
She  was  a  large  woman  and  lazy,  and  disliked  the  effort 
of  climbing  stairs,  so  the  house  was  built  almost  en- 
tirely on  one  floor;  only  a  rudimentary  second  floor 


6o  3Usenb£  of  a  JHort&ern  Count? 

with  rooms  for  servants.  The  lower  floor  was  most 
spacious.  The  builders  were  rich  and  gay ;  life  was  one 
long  round  of  riding,  gaming,  dancing,  and  drinking,  in 
which  young  and  old  from  the  village,  two  miles  away, 
joined  with  the  nearer  neighbors. 

The  present  owner,  who  has  lived  in  the  house  for 
over  sixty  years,  relates  many  anecdotes  of  its  early 
history;  the  guests  generally  arrived  on  horseback,  or 
in  sleighs,  among  them  many  a  man  who  was,  or  be- 
came, famous  throughout  the  country.  The  stakes 
were  high  and  the  gayety  fast  and  furious;  fortunes 
changed  hands  in  that  innocent-looking  colonial  house. 
The  hostess  who  grew  larger  and  slow  of  movement  sat 
in  the  big  drawing-room  and,  that  nothing  might  escape 
her  attention,  had  a  window  cut  through  into  one  of 
the  two  dining-rooms  where  cards  were  played  and  from 
which  a  stairway  led  to  the  wine  cellar.  From  this 
vantage  point  she  kept  track  of  the  game  and  the  wine ; 
she  was  no  spoil  sport,  however,  and  left  the  gamesters 
unmolested  till  far  on  toward  dawn  there  was  mounting 
of  horses  and  gay  winner  and  sad  loser  galloped  away. 


A     GRAVEYARD     ROMANCE— A      TRAGEDY 
AND    A    SCANDAL 

NEAR  the  easterly  line  of  the  Cooper  burying  ground 
are  two  graves,  side  by  side,  one  of  Hannah  Cooper  and 
the  other  of  Col.  Richard  Cary. 

The  visitor  in  reaching  them  must  be  careful  not  to 
fall  over  either  Mr.  or  Mrs.  Avery  Averell  or  over  one 
of  the  long  row  of  little  Pomeroys.  The  Averys  are 
strangers  to  the  people  among  whom  they  rest,  and 
why  they  lie  where  they  do,  no  one  to-day  knows;  so  is 
Col.  Richard  Cary,  one  time  on  General  Washington's 
staff,  but  the  reason  of  his  presence  is  known. 

For  years  the  tomb  of  Hannah  Cooper  bore  only  the 
verses  engraved  on  it,  and  written  by  her  father,  Judge 
Cooper.  The  name  and  date  were  added  later.  Hannah 
was  his  favorite  daughter;  she  was,  according  to  tradi- 
tion and  contemporary  writings,  talented,  beautiful, 
and  good.  She  lived  with  her  father  when  he  attended 
the  Sessions  of  Congress  at  Philadelphia  and  made 
many  friends  and  had  many  admirers. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1800,  she,  with  one  of  her 
brothers,  either  William  or  Richard,  started  from  her 
home  to  visit  the  Morris  family  at  Butternuts.  The 

61 


62  Hegenb*  of  a  J^ortfjern  Count? 

ride  was  about  twenty-four  miles  over  hill  and  dale,  and 
almost  entirely  through  the  woods.  As  about  the  only 
way  of  travel  in  the  wilderness  was  on  horseback  she  was 
an  expert  horsewoman,  but  when  her  horse  was  brought 
out  and  proved  to  be  a  thoroughbred,  recently  imported 
by  her  father,  she  expressed  some  reluctance  to  ride 
him.  Of  course  her  brothers  twitted  her  with  timidity 
and  she  yielded  and  rode  off. 

All  went  well  until  they  were  approaching  the  Morris 
place.  Perhaps  the  long  ride  had  tired  her  or  made  her 
careless.  The  horse  shied  violently,  it  is  said  at  a  dog, 
threw  her  by  the  roadside,  and  broke  her  neck.  The 
spot  is  still  marked  by  a  shaft  of  marble,  three  sides  of 
which  are  devoted  to  her  virtues. 

This  monument  was  sent  all  the  way  from  Phila- 
delphia and  was  the  tribute  of  an  admirer.  In  the 
lapse  of  time  his  name  was  forgotten  and  I  have  heard 
this  post-mortem  attention  attributed  to  a  number  of 
Hannah's  friends,  among  them  Moss  Kent,  but  the 
letters  which  are  set  out  in  another  article  in  this  volume 
show  that  the  monument  was  sent  by  J.  H.  Imlay  of 
Allentown,  N.  J.,  by  whom,  I  think,  the  inscription  on 
the  south  face  was  written;  those  on  the  other  sides 
were  the  work  one  of  a  Mrs.  Meredith  and  the  other  of  a 
Miss  Wistar,  both  of  Philadelphia;  the  monument,  a 
monolith,  is,  notwithstanding  its  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years,  in  a  condition  of  perfect  preservation. 


&  (Srabcparb  Romance  63 

The  inscriptions  which  it  bears  I  have  set  out  at  length 
with  the  letters  relating  to  it. 

Her  brother  turned  about  and  rode  back  to  Coopers- 
town,  bringing  the  news  of  the  accident.  On  his 
arrival  Judge  Cooper  and  Moss  Kent,  a  great  ad- 
mirer of  Hannah's,  and  some  of  the  family  mounted 
and  started  at  once  for  Morris.  It  was  late;  the 
moon  was  full  and  the  country  ablaze  with  autumn 
colors.  My  father  has  often  repeated  to  me  the 
story  of  that  long  and  silent  ride  as  told  to  him  by 
his  father,  to  whom  it  had  been  related  by  Moss 
Kent. 

Poor  Hannah !  She  was  brought  back  to  her  home, 
and  laid  temporarily  on  the  old  Queen  Anne  table  now 
in  the  dining-room  at  Fynmere,  which  had  been  brought 
from  Richard  Fenimore's  home  in  Rancocus,  New 
Jersey,  and  subsequently  became  the  library  table  at 
Otsego  Hall. 

In  due  time  she  was  buried  under  the  stone  bearing 
these  verses  by  her  heart-broken  father: 

Adieu!  thou  Gentle,  Pious,  Spotless,  Fair, 
Thou  more  than  daughter  of  my  fondest  care, 
Farewell !  Farewell !  till  happier  ages  roll 
And  waft  me  Purer  to  thy  kindred  Soul. 
Oft  shall  the  Orphan  and  the  Widow'd  poor 
Thy  bounty  fed,  this  lonely  spot  explore, 
There  to  relate  thy  seeming  hapless  doom, 
(More  than  the  solemn  record  of  the  tomb, 


64  Hegente  of  a  J^ortfjern  County 

By  tender  love  inscribed  can  e'er  portray, 
Nor  sculptured  Marble,  nor  the  Plaintiff  lay, 
Proclaim  thy  Virtues  thro'  the  vale  of  time) 
And  bathe  with  grateful  tears  thy  hallowed  shrine. 

Among  her  elderly  admirers  was  Col.  Richard  Gary, 
the  father  of  the  Ann  Gary  who  married  Richard 
Cooper  and  later  George  Clarke.  When  the  gallant 
Virginia  Colonel  came  to  die,  he  whispered  to  his 
mourning  family  that  he  had  one  last  request  to  make 
— "Bury  me  beside  Hannah  Cooper;  she  was  the  best 
woman  I  ever  knew  and  my  only  chance  of  Paradise  is 
getting  in  on  her  skirts." 

This  may  have  been  a  shock  to  his  wife  and  family 
but  they  respected  his  wish  and  buried  him  where  he 
still  lies — close  beside  Hannah.  Whether  or  not  he 
accomplished  his  purpose  only  Eternity  can  tell  the 
reader. 

Here  the  romance  ends — but  among  the  books  which 
have  survived  the  vicissitudes  of  over  a  century  and  a 
quarter  of  attic  life,  is  a  rather  large  calfskin-covered 
volume  inscribed  "Miss  Coopers  Commonplace  Book." 
It  is  dated  1791  and  on  the  flyleaf  is  written  "Miss  H. 
Cooper,  Cooperstown." 

Nearly  three  hundred  pages  are  filled  with  poetry  and 
prose  copied  or  written  with  great  care  by  the  owner, 
and  which  by  their  character  show  the  turn  of  mind  of 
Hannah  from  early  youth  until  her  death.  Then  fol- 


&  <§rabepartii  Romance  65 

lows  a  memorial  entry  in  a  new  handwriting  and  after 
it  copies  of  a  number  of  letters  of  condolence  written 
to  Judge  Cooper,  and  several  poems  contributed  by 
mourning,  but  now  unknown  friends.  It  was  an  age  of 
formality  and  even  the  expressions  of  grief  and  sympathy 
were  formal  and  artificial,  although  doubtless  sincere. 

From  these  expressions  of  sorrow,  typical  of  the  times, 
I  have  selected  the  following  to  show  that  Hannah  had 
many  friends  and  mourners  besides  Colonel  Cary,  and 
to  show  the  then  prevailing  method  of  expressing  grief 
and  sympathy: 

IN  MEMORY  OF  THE  LATE  AMIABLE  H.  C. 

Hast  thou  not  seen  the  lucid  ray  of  Even ! 

Far,  in  the  west,  diffuse  its  modest  ray; 
And  mark'd  the  bright,  Cerulean  beam  of  Heaven 

Cheer  and  irradiate  the  Orient  day? 

Hast  thou  not  seen  Religion's  powerful  aid 
Fresh  luster  to  the  brow  of  youth,  impart? 

And  Charity,  in  Cooper's  form  portray'd, 
Warm  and  ameliorate  the  human  heart ! 

Yes — thou  hast  seen,  meek  gratitude  express'd, 
Where  beauty  (lowly  bends)  to  Virtue's  shrine 

And  Pity's  pure  oraison,  address'd 

To  Him,  who  bade  Ethereal  glories  shine. 

Wrap'd  in  the  sable  garniture  of  Woe, 

Where  pendent  Cypress  shades  funereal  gloom — 

The  muse,  her  plaintive  requiem,  taught  to  flow, 
And  Friendship  wept,  at  Cooper's  silent  tomb. 


66  Hegento  of  a  Jfrortfjern  Count? 


'Twas  Thine,  to  animate  life's  swift  career, 
Mild,  modest,  artless,  innocently  gay  — 

'Twas  thine,  to  fill  &&'  higher,  nobler  sphere, 
With  sainted  spirits  in  the  realms  of  day. 

For  thee  sweet  maid  !  resplendent  beams  of  thought, 
Wisdom's  rich  lore,  by  seraph's  hands  were  given, 

Thy  spotless  soul,  the  pure  effulgence  caught, 
It  sparkled,  was  exhaled,  and  went  to  Heaven. 

BY  A  YOUNG  LADY. 

Philadelphia,  September  26th,  1800. 

Death,  ere  thou  has  killed  another, 
Fair,  and  learned,  and  good  as  she 
Time  shall  throw  a  dart  at  thee. 

On  the  loth  instant,  departed  this  life,  Miss  Hannah 
Cooper,  eldest  daughter  of  Wm.  Cooper,  Esq.  of  Coopers- 
town.  Her  death  was  occasioned  by  a  sudden  fall  from  her 
horse,  on  the  road  between  Cooperstown  and  the  Butter- 
nutts,  about  one  mile  from  the  latter  place  — 

The  merit  and  accomplishments  of  this  excellent  young 
lady,  who  was  universally  respected,  as  she  was  extensively 
known,  combined  with  the  melancholy  circumstances  of  her 
untimely  exit,  will  long  be  remembered  with  mingled  ad- 
miration and  regret,  by  all  who  had  the  happiness  of  her 
acquaintance. 

Her  friends,  her  neighbors,  and  the  forlorn  objects  of 
her  compassionate  bounties,  will  forever  cherish,  with  avari- 
cious sadness,  the  endearing  memory  of  her  exemplary 
virtues  —  Her  inconsolable  Parents  !  .  .  . 

But  who  can  paint  their  sorrow! 

Can  imagination  trail  amidst  its  vast  creation,  hues  so  sad  ! 


3  (Srabeparb  Romance  67 

Cease,  woe  struck  mourners,  check  the  trickling  eye, 
Full  sacrifice  enough  to  fortune's  given; 
The  treacherous  earth,  that  smiles  so  seemingly, 
Teems  big  with  death,  and  death's  the  debt  of  Heaven, 
Waste  not  in  idle  grief  the  silent  hour, 
If  shielded  virtue  gard  the  honest  breast, 
Surrendering  sorrow  sheaths  his  blunted  power, 
Death  hides  his  sting  and  droops  his  baffled  crest. 

Rome,  Sept.  29th,  1800. 

Lines  on  the  Death  of  an  amiable  and  beautiful  young  lady 
at on  Sept.  loth,  1800 — by  Mr. 

Death  took  it  in  his  empty  skull 
He'd  be  a  beau  on  next  birth-day, 
And  needs  a  nosegay  he  must  pull 
To  make  him  up  a  choice  boquet. 

To  Beauty's  garden  straight  he  hied, 
With  sweeping  scythe  her  flowers  to  mow; 
"Your  trouble  spare"  the  owner  cried, 
"By  my  advice  to  Otsego  go. " 

Tho'  here  fond  bees  for  sweets  may  swarm, 
Their  tasteless  buzzings  do  not  mind 
For  there  each  grace  that  sense  can  charm, 
In  one  fair  blooming  flower  you'll  find. 

Quick  to  this  lovely  fragrant  rose 
His  icy  fingers  he  applies; 
Death's  finest  of  fine  birth-day  beaux, 
For  in  his  breast  Hannah  dies ! 


68  Hegenti*  of  a  Jfrortfjern  Count? 

Her  bloom's  bequeathed  to  blushing  morn, 
Her  fragrance  with  the  zephyrs  blends ; 
But  ah !  to  whom  is  left  the  thorn  ? 
Sharp  in  the  bosom  of  her  friends. 

Miss  HANNAH  COOPER. 

Sept.  24th,  1800. 


MY  DEAR  FRIEND 

The  awful  and  calamitous  visitation  with  which  it  has 
pleased  the  Almighty  to  afflict  you  and  your  dear  Family, 
reached  me  yesterday. 

To  renew  your  grief  by  any  offer  of  consolation  is  a  hard 
task,  but  I  cannot  on  this  mournful  occasion  entirely  sup- 
press the  feelings  of  friendship —  To  say  that  I  sympathize 
with  sincerity  is  but  a  faint  expression  of  my  distress,  no 
person  acquainted  with  the  dear  deceased,  could  hear  the 
melancholy  tale  with  composure — but  for  me  who  pos- 
sessed a  more  than  common  friendship  for  her,  it  was  dis- 
tressing in  the  extreme,  mine  was  an  affectionate  and 
reverent  friendship  founded  upon  a  long  and  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  her  uncommon  worth —  There  is  one 
circumstance,  my  friend  which  must  be  reflected  upon  with 
comfort — Her  life — Her  amiable  and  blameless  life  was 
such  as  to  secure  her  an  everlasting  portion  of  that  happy 
state,  of  which  she  was  often  thoughtfull —  May  we  while 
we  regret  her  absence  endeavor  to  imitate  her  conduct. 

The  subject  grows  to  painfull  for  me —  Indulge  me  in 
one  last  affectionate  and  sincere  Tear — it  is  a  small  tribute 
to  her  blessed  memory. 

Adieu. 

RIC'D  R.  SMITH. 

Philadelphia,  September  2Oth,  1800. 


8  ©rabeparb  Romance  69 

New  York,  9  mo.  3Oth,  1800. 

DEAR  FRIEND — 

I  know  it  is  but  little  a  friend  can  say  that  may  have  much 
tendency  to  aleviate  such  pain  and  affliction,  that  the  and 
thy  family  experience,  in  the  loss  of  your  dear  Hannah — 
its  but  a  few  days  past,  since  I  read  the  afflicting  account — 
My  regard  and  love  for  her  was  such,  I  feelingly  participate 
in  mourning  the  loss  of  her. 

The  present  fall  I  propos'd  seeing  Cooperstown,  one  of 
the  pleasing  circumstances  I  contemplated  in  the  intended 
visit  was  to  see  and  be  with  her,  and  the  rest  of  the  family — 
Thee  knows,  &  I  know,  its  much  easier  for  the  Tongue 
or  Pen  to  speak  on  so  affecting  a  subject  than  for  the 
heart  of  the  afflicted  to  experience  what  is  said — however 
this  we  are  confident  of  "that  a  sparrow  falls  not  with- 
out his  knowledge,  much  less  man" —  We  see  but  little 
ahead,  nay  in  comparison,  none,  the  end  of  poor  dear 
Hannah  is  extremely  afflicting,  but  we  know  not  wether 
ever  after  she  would  have  been  so  well  prepared  for  the 
great  change — 

I  am  sure  her  Father  &  Mother,  with  the  rest  of  her  rela- 
tions, have  one  consolation  among  many,  in  the  remem- 
brance of  her,  which  now  must  be  the  greatest  of  all,  that  is 
"she  was  a  good  girl,  &  I  doubt  not  is  gone  to  rest,  a  com- 
fortable hope  of  which  will  operate  on  the  mind,  so  as  in 
part  to  aleviate  extreme  mourning — not  looking  back  but 
forward,  hoping  that  we  may  be  thus  prepared,  that  when- 
ever it  is  our  lot  to  bid  adieu  here,  we  may  be  likewise 
ready — 

Farewell  my  dear  friend,  believe  me  to  be 
thy  very  affectionate, 

J.  PEARSALL. 


70  Hesenb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND 

Just  as  I  was  determined  to  write  you  with  every  senti- 
ment of  gratitude,  Acknowledge  your  friendly  letter  was 
most  sothing  &  flattering  to  my  heart,  the  tender  interest 
you  appeared  to  take  in  my  affairs,  &  the  prudent  &  judi- 
cious council  you  gave,  all  confirmed  the  opinion  I  had  long 
nourished  of  your  Philanthropy  &  Friendly  disposition  to 
my  much  lamented  Friend  &  all  his  family —  Just  as  I  had 
commenced  my  letter,  Betsy  with  a  most  dejected  counte- 
nance entered  with  a  newspaper,  exclaiming,  Oh  Mama 
poor  Miss  Cooper!  What  about  her,  oh  read  that  most 
direful  account — 

How  shall  I  address  you  on  a  subject  so  painful,  my  heart 
has  from  that  moment  sympathized  with  you,  it  revived 
all  those  painful  ideas  that  the  loss  of  my  beloved  son  gave 
me,  Yes  my  friend,  I  felt  for  you,  I  mourn  your  loss,  She  was 
a  jewel  of  immense  value  to  you  &  her  friends —  Yes  it  is 
over,  the  painful  conflict  is  past,  &  she  Blessed  shade  is  at 
Peace.  What  abundant  consolation  will  a  retrospect  of  her 
short  life  afford  you —  and  soon  will  you  be  convinced  that 
she  is  far  better  off,  than  those  who  have  the  debt  still  to 
discharge —  Soon  must  all,  that  now  bask  in  the  sunshine 
of  prosperity,  submit  to  the  unrelenting  hand  of  death, 
she  has  done  her  duty  and  will  be  rewarded — her  character 
is  sealed — nothing  can  now  happen  to  disturb  her  or  your 
repose. 

The  friend  that  weeps  ore  the  grave  of  his  departed 
friend  this  day,  most  assuredly  shall,  in  a  very  short  time 
be  succeeded  by  his  mourning  relatives,  there  is  a  constant 
succession,  we  tumble  in,  one  after  the  other,  &  yet  mourn 
as  if  we  had  a  lease  for  our  lives —  Death  must  not  be 
viewed  as  the  greatest  evil — evil  certainly  no —  We  are 
deprived  'tis  true  of  some  good,  but  let  us  always  act  ration- 
ally &  then  we  shall  view  every  point  on  its  proper  ground — 


S  (Srabeparb  Romance  71 

Excuse  the  liberty  I  have  taken  in  addressing  you  at  this 
period,  when  your  heart  is  still  bleeding,  I  well  know  few 
people  can  pay  acceptable  visits  to  the  afflicted,  but  a 
sympathy  so  powerful  as  I  felt  for  you  appeared  to  do  away 
all  ceremony  &  I  felt  myself  compelled  to  offer  you  some 
consoling  ideas — if  anything  I  can  say  will  for  a  moment 
mitigate  the  severity  of  your  grief,  I  shall  be  rewarded  for 
the  anxiety  the  doubts  have  occasioned. 

Her  reign  was  short,  &  what  is  the  product  of  the  longest 
&  best  of  lives,  are  they  not  evils  strewed  in  every  human 
path,  can  we  traverse  any  without  difficulty?  No — a  long 
life  will  evince  the  truth  of  this — the  best  &  most  fortunate 
can  only  obtain  a  character  which  time  will  efface — nothing 
permanent  here — let  us  be  wise  in  time  &  act  justly  on  all 
subjects — then  may  we  enjoy  the  blessings  which  are  in 
our  power. 

May  God  bless  you  &  yours,  with  health  &  every  earthly 
blessing — is  the  sincere  prayer  of  your  Friend, 

ANNE  FRANCIS. 

Philadelphia, 

October  4th,  1800. 

It  is  evident  from  the  following  and  other  letters, 
that  Hannah  had  a  premonition  of  death;  perhaps  she 
was  what  the  Scotch  call  "fey." 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND 

On  the  23rd  Instant,  I  reed,  a  letter  from  Mr.  A.  Ten- 
broeck,  containing  the  truly  melancholy  and  distressing 
intelligence  that  Miss  Cooper — alas!  is  no  more! — this  is  an 
event,  which  at  any  time,  and  under  almost  any  circum- 
stances would  be  very  afflicting,  and  a  loss  irreparable,  but 
the  manner  in  which  it  has  come,  renders  the  same  painful, 
distressing  and  afflictive,  beyond  imagination —  In  such 


72  Hegettte  of  a  JBtortftern  Count? 

case  what  can  I  offer,  or  say,  by  way  of  consolation?  Indeed 
I  have  nothing — it  would  be  well  for  me  if  I  had — for  verily 
I  am  not  without  much  occasion  for  it  myself — to  say  that 
your  daughter  was  good  and  amiable,  would  be  only  saying 
what  is  well  known  to  yourself,  and  all  who  had  the  happi- 
ness of  her  acquaintance,  and  would  only  perhaps  be  adding 
accumulated  distress  to  the  severest  affliction.  In  one 
sense,  this  may  be  true — but  in  another  it  must  be  a  source 
of  inexpressible  comfort  and  satisfaction  and  thereby  afford 
some  relief  to  your  sorrow,  and  consolation  under  your 
bereavement — that  while  her  great  goodness  and  amiable- 
ness  endeared  her  to  all  her  acquaintances,  they  have  made 
her  meet  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  prepared  her  to 
change  her  abode  (and  that  in  an  instant,  with  hardly  a 
momentary  pause)  from  among  mortals — a  state  at  best 
of  vicissitude,  pain  and  sorrow,  for  an  abode  among  the 
Blessed.  Our  loss  is  truly  her  gain —  As  sure  as  this  con- 
sideration can  assuage  your  own,  and  the  grief  of  the  Family 
on  this  melancholy  catastrophe,  and  offered  ground  of  con- 
solation, and  surely  it  is  of  all  others  the  greatest — it  must 
be  abundantly  yours —  During  my  visit  with  you  last 
summer,  which  I  must  e'en  think  of  with  pleasure,  tho'  now 
mixed  with  much  alloy,  in  some  of  my  walks  with  Miss 
Cooper — once  or  twice  in  particular,  when  passing  through 
that  lonely  mansion  back  of  your  house,  of  which  she  has 
now,  alas !  become  an  inhabitant,  I  have  heard  her  express 
the  same  sentiment  which  Mr.  Tenbroeck  mentions  in  his 
letter  to  me,  which  she  had  expressed  in  conversation  with 
him  and  some  others — but  a  few  days  before,  nay  but  a  day 
or  two  before  her  unhappy  fate,  of  her  belief  or  impression 
that  her  abode  in  this  world  would  not  be  of  long  continuance 
— in  one  instance  her  words  in  answer  to  an  observation  of 
mine  were — "if  it  should  be  as  you  say,  thirty  or  forty  years 
— what  a  moment — what  a  span — what  a  vapor — how  in- 


3  (Srabeparb  Romance  73 

significant  compared  with  that  state  of  existence  which 
awaits  me  hereafter,  how  important  that,  of  how  little  mo- 
ment this."  Amiable  woman —  Too  soon — alas!  for 
thy  friends,  has  thou  realised  thy  apprehensions!  Thy 
mild  and  gentle  spirit  has  taken  its  flight  from  the  present 
imperfect  and  chequer'd  state  of  things  to  one  more  con- 
genial with  thy  native  purity,  excellence  &  virtue.  It  is 
ours  to  lament  Hanah's  death — tho'  death  to  thee  is  great 
gain.  My  friend — what  a  dream — what  a  meteor — what 
a  vapor — in  the  expressive  language  of  your  daughter,  this 
state  of  things  really  is — all  that  makes  it  desirable  is,  the 
society  and  enjoyment  of  our  friends — and  we  scarce  find  a 
friend  when  death  or  some  unfortunate  occurence  or  other 
snatches  them  from  our  embrace — so  it  is.  It  is  our  duty 
to  acquiesce — but  I  am  only  paining  yours,  and  my  own 
feelings  afresh,  by  recalling  to  recollection  in  so  particular 
manner,  the  magnitude  of  our  loss.  Accept  my  sincere 
sympathy  and  condolence  in  the  affliction  of  you  and.  yours, 
and  of  my  best  regards  and  good  wishes. 
Farewell,  God  bless  you, 

Yours  &c. 

J.  H.  IMLAY. 

Alentown,  September  27th 

1800. 
New  Jersey. 


DEAR  SIR,  AND  UNFORTUNATE  FRIEND, 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  describe  to  you,  the  keen  anguish 
and  sorrowful  heart  on  the  fatal  news  of  the  supreme  dis- 
pensation of  Heaven  upon  your  virtuous,  worthy  and  truly 
lovely  daughter.  My  trembling  hand  dare  hardly  pre- 
sume to  address  itself  to  you  on  this  truly  melancholy  event 
— but  I  rely  entirely  on  your  friendship  to  me. 


74  Hegenbfii  of  a  JBtortfjern  Count? 

Permit  me  therefore,  my  dear  Sir,to  mingle  my  abundant 
tears,  and  sincere  ones,  with  yours,  and  the  desolated  family. 
Alas !  could  I  expect  to  hear  such  a  dreadful  recital,  while  I 
was  enjoying  silently,  and  within  myself,  the  sweet  hope  of 
beholding  once  more — and  within  a  short  time — that  un- 
commonly amiable  mortal — could  I  but  express  myself  in 
truer  terms,  or  more  sympathetical  words,  you  would  be 
convinced  of  the  sincere  part  I  take  with  you,  and  your  dear 
family,  on  that  unexpected,  horrible !  event — 

Be  ye  all  convinced  of  my  sincere  sorrow,  for  your  loss.     I 
remain  with  true  sentiments  of  high  esteem,  for  you  all. 
Your  respectful  servant 

and  afflicted  friend, 

HOUDIN. 

Albany,  September  i5th,  1800. 

Upwards  of  four  score  years  passed  over  the  village. 
The  changes  are  many ;  success  crowns  the  work  of  some, 
and  failure  is  the  fate  of  others;  families  become  pros- 
perous and  prominent  and  others  long  established  in 
the  front  rank  of  the  social  life  of  the  town  suffer  vicissi- 
tudes and  are  forced  to  part  with  their  old  homes  and 
materially  modify  their  manner  of  life.  Into  these 
years  are  woven  many  an  event  of  interest,  some  tragic, 
some  amusing,  and  some  scandalous,  but  all  vital  to  the 
actors.  From  them  I  have  selected  two  for  repetition 
here;  one  a  local  tragedy  and  the  other  a  state-wide 
scandal. 

The  tragedy  is  comparatively  recent;  while  the  scan- 
dal dates  back  a  century  and  more : 


a  (Srabeparb  Romance  75 

About  forty  years  ago  a  rich  Southerner  bought 
Lakelands,  remodeled  it,  and  proposed  to  make  it  his 
home.  His  family  consisted  of  a  wife,  son,  and  daughter. 
The  boy  was  a  little  wild.  At  this  time  there  was  liv- 
ing in  the  stone  house  near  the  head  of  the  lake  a  very 
attractive  young  woman  with  whom  the  son  fell  desper- 
ately in  love.  She  would,  however,  have  none  of  him. 
He  persisted  in  his  attentions  until  one  beautiful  Octo- 
ber day  he  persuaded  her  to  let  him  row  her  across  the 
lake  to  Hyde  Hall.  All  the  way  he  urged  her  to  marry 
him.  As  they  reached  the  dock,  he  again  asked  her, 
adding:  "This  is  the  last  time."  She  persisted  in  her 
refusal  although  he  declared  that  he  would  shoot  him- 
self unless  she  accepted  him.  He  stepped  from  the 
boat,  and  standing  on  the  dock  blew  out  his  brains. 
Not  long  after,  the  house  was  vacated  by  the  family, 
sold,  and  never  since  has  been  occupied.  Is  it  the 
shadow  of  this  tragedy  which  hangs  over  it?  Ever 
since  it  has  been  known  as  haunted.  What  form  the 
"hant"  appears  in  I  cannot  tell  you,  as  no  one  living 
to-day  ever  spent  a  night  in  the  house.  There  it  has 
stood,  gray,  gaunt,  and  abandoned,  gazing  over  the  lake 
toward  the  scene  of  the  tragedy. 

Not  long  afterwards  the  boy's  sister  married  and 
within  a  year  died.  One  morning,  while  driving  her 
team  of  horses  at  the  Four  Corners,  the  unhappy 
mother  dropped  the  reins  and  fell  back  dead.  Her 


76  Hegente  of  a  J^ortfjent  Cotmtp 

husband  lived  on  for  a  time  by  himself  until  one  day 
he  was  paralyzed  and  shortly  died.  Thus,  in  a  few 
years,  what  seemed  to  be  a  prosperous  family  had  dis- 
appeared entirely,  and  now  almost  is  forgotten. 

The  scene  moves  back  over  a  century;  Richard 
Fenimore  Cooper,  who  died  in  1813,  is  living  with  his 
beautiful  wife,  Ann  Gary,  and  a  family  of  sons.  Among 
his  intimate  friends  is  George  Clarke,  the  builder  of 
Hyde  Hall.  The  relations  between  Ann  and  George 
were  the  subject  of  some  scandal  before  Richard  died. 
Very  shortly  after  his  funeral  Ann  went  off  with  her 
admirer.  She  told  my  father  that  they  were  married 
at  once;  but  the  scandal  was  not  quieted  by  the  rumor 
that  the  new  husband  had  a  wife  and  family  in  Eng- 
land; as  to  them  she  said  that  he  had  secured  an 
American  divorce  before  she  married  him. 

Some  seven  or  eight  months  after  the  death  of  Rich- 
ard, Alfred  Clarke  was  born.  Was  he  a  Clarke  or  a 
Cooper?  That  was  the  question  which  convulsed  the 
society,  not  alone  of  Cooperstown,  but  of  much  of  the 
State  for  years.  His  mother  declared  that  he  was 
Richard's  son,  but  as  he  was  born  in  lawful  wedlock  he 
was  legally  a  Clarke,  the  son  of  George. 

In  time  another  son  was  born  and  named  for  his 
father,  George.  Alfred  was  one  of  my  father's  best 
friends.  As  time  went  on,  he  grew  more  and  more  like 
the  Coopers  until  he  became  convinced  that  he  really 


&  (Srabeparb  Romance  77 

was  a  Cooper,  and  he  called  himself  Alfred  Cooper  Clarke. 
That  he  was  not  a  Clarke  seemed  to  be  accepted  by  his 
legal  father,  as  when  he  died  he  left  Hyde  Hall,  and 
most  of  his  property,  to  his  second  son  George.  It  was 
a  curious  case  of  dual  personality,  for  when  some  of  the 
English  Clarke  property  passed  to  the  eldest  son  of 
George  Clarke,  it  was  Alfred  who  went  to  England  and 
got  it  as  the  eldest  son  born  in  lawful  wedlock. 

When  his  mother,  Ann,  died,  she  left  her  property  to 
Alfred;  and  it  was  Alfred's  conviction  that  he  was  a 
Cooper  which  led  him  to  leave  Swanswick  and  other 
property  to  Theodore  Keese  and  me  on  certain  con- 
tingencies; and  it  was  the  blunder  of  a  lawyer  which 
prevented  our  inheriting  it,  as  all  the  conditions  which 
attached  to  our  intended  inheritance  were  fulfilled. 


SOME  ABANDONED  HOUSES 

AFTER  a  day  spent  in  driving  over  the  more  secluded, 
but  very  beautiful,  by-ways  of  the  County,  one  is  im- 
pressed by  the  disappearance,  almost  accomplished,  of 
three  of  the  most  prominent  features  of  old-time  country 
life;  the  country  gentleman;  the  country  tavern  and  the 
country  church.  Perhaps  they  were  so  closely  allied 
that  the  vanishing  of  the  first  destroyed  the  other  two. 

All  over  the  countryside  are  to  be  found  the  aban- 
doned homes  of  one-time  prosperous  farmers;  and  fre- 
quently the  more  pretentious  houses  of  the  well-to-do 
land  owner;  the  windows  gone;  the  doors  open  and 
swinging  in  the  wind ;  and  the  flowers  still  growing  and 
running  wild  in  the  old-time  gardens. 

The  number  of  such  abandoned  places  is  appalling. 
Each  year  some  of  them  either  collapse  under  the  at- 
tacks of  the  weather  or  burn  up.  In  many  of  the  more 
remote  spots  nothing  is  left  but  a  cellar  and  a  few  rose 
bushes  and  apple  trees,  and  great  lilac  bushes.  Gradu- 
ally the  rural  population  is  shrinking  to  a  strip  of  land 
along  the  better  highways  in  the  valleys. 

Among  the  houses  still  standing  are  some  of  impor- 
tance in  their  day ;  the  old  stone  house  at  Butts  Corners ; 

78 


feome  Sbanfcaneti  gouges  79 

"Col.  Dunbar's  house,"  a  little  to  the  west,  which  must 
have  been  years  ago  a  beautiful  place,  with  its  brick 
main  building  and  huge  wooden  additions,  and  great 
trees  on  either  side  of  the  entrance.  Now  only  the 
brick  part  stands,  trembling  to  its  fall;  the  great  trees 
are  only  stumps ;  while  the  wings  can  be  traced,  amidst 
the  briars,  by  the  cellar  walls  and  ruins  of  the  huge 
central  chimneys. 

There  are  still  left  some  fine  old  frame  colonial  houses 
here  and  there;  one  near  Stoney  Lonesome;  one  on  the 
Colliers  road  and  others  far  back  in  the  hills,  among 
them  the  one  near  Geoweys  Pond.  Their  days  are 
numbered ;  the  best  of  workmanship  and  the  finest  ma- 
terial, unaided  by  man,  soon  yield  to  the  elements  in  our 
northern  climate. 

One  wonders  why  they  were  built ;  and  again  why  they 
were  abandoned.  It  is  easy  to  see,  in  the  imagination, 
the  one-time  inhabitants;  the  gardens  and  living- 
rooms  gay  with  youth;  the  playing  children;  the  pros- 
perous men  and  women  of  middle  life;  and  the  older 
ones  with  their  knitting  and  books  by  the  fireside  and 
on  the  porch.  Where  have  they  gone  and  why  ?  Have 
conditions  of  life  changed  so  as  to  eliminate  forever 
the  country  home? 

When  these  great  houses  were  built  the  owners 
probably  held  considerable  tracts  of  land;  part  they 
cultivated  and  part  they  rented  to  farmers.  Fuel  was 


8o  Hesente  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

plenty  and  easily  obtained  from  the  woods,  which  came 
down  to  the  meadows,  and  labor  was  cheap  and  con- 
tented with  country  life.  The  contrast  between  the 
luxuries  and  pleasures  of  life  in  the  country  and  that  in 
the  smaller  towns  and  cities  was  far  less  marked  than 
it  is  now. 

By  degrees  the  land  ran  out ;  fuel  became  scarce  and 
dear;  as  did  labor;  savings  were  exhausted  and  the 
young  people,  lonely  and  discontented,  went  to  the 
villages  and  cities.  The  more  fortunate  of  the  old 
people  went  to  the  graveyard;  the  others  to  the  poor- 
house.  I  am  told  that  the  last  occupant  of  Col.  Dun- 
bar's  house  died  on  the  county-farm. 

Although  the  country  is  dotted  over  by  these  gaunt 
reminders  of  a  life  which  has  gone,  in  every  stage  of 
ruin,  there  is  very  little  known  of  their  actual  history, 
and  a  singular  dearth  of  legends  such  as  might  be  ex- 
pected to  attach  themselves  to  such  romantic  objects. 
Most  of  the  ghost  stories  and  tales  belong  to  the  houses 
still  occupied,  the  others  stand  lonely  and  often  for- 
bidding, keeping  within  their  empty  walls  and  open 
doors  and  staring  windows  the  mystery  of  their  past 
and  the  story  of  their  one-time  occupants. 

Col.  Dunbar's  house  is  an  exception  to  this  rule,  as 
about  it  hangs  a  tradition,  common  enough  in  some 
neighborhoods,  but  unusual  here — that  of  a  secret 
chamber:  it  is  very  nebulous,  as  is  the  story  of  the  old 


£>ome  .atmnboucb  ^outfetf  81 

house.  There  is  no  such  room  in  the  part  which  still 
stands,  unless  it  is  in  the  attic,  which  is  wholly  inacces- 
sible, so  if  it  existed  it  must  have  been  in  one  of  the 
long-vanished  additions.  One  story  is  that  years  ago 
a  spy  was  hidden  in  this  room;  who  he  was,  by  whom 
hidden,  from  whom,  and  in  what  war  are  all  alike  for- 
gotten. Another  tradition  which  goes  more  into  de- 
tail, is,  that  about  a  century  ago,  either  the  owner  of 
the  house  or  one  of  his  immediate  family,  was  im- 
prisoned in  Connecticut  for  some  offense.  Elaborate 
plans  were  made  for  his  escape,  including  a  relay  of 
horses  every  five  miles.  When  all  was  ready  he  fled, 
dressed  in  an  extra  gown  worn  into  the  jail  by  his  wife. 
He  was  pursued  by  the  sheriff  and  a  posse.  For  a  time 
the  chase  was  hot,  but  the  fugitive,  availing  himself  of 
the  fresh  horses,  gradually  gained  on  his  pursuers,  who, 
as  my  informant  said,  had  only  "  jaded  mounts."  He 
reached  the  Dunbar  house  far  in  advance  and  was 
hidden  in  the  secret  room.  For  months  he  lay  con- 
cealed there,  a  "fugitive  from  justice,"  as  the  neighbors 
still  call  him.  His  hiding  place,  I  was  told,  was  beside 
one  of  the  chimneys  and  had  a  scuttle  opening  on  to  the 
roof  through  which,  when  all  was  quiet,  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  escaping  at  night  for  exercise.  This  story 
seems  definitely  to  locate  the  hiding  place  as  beside  the 
big  chimney  in  the  extension ;  and  it  also  tells  of  shelves 
used  for  linen  as  helping  in  its  concealment. 


82  Hegento  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

It  was  the  custom  in  this  country  to  combine 
wooden  extensions  with  brick  or  stone  main  buildings, 
and  most  of  the  old  houses  followed  this  habit.  Perhaps 
the  funds  of  the  owners  became  so  impaired  that  a 
cheaper  form  of  construction  was  adopted  or  the  idea 
prevailed  of  a  substantial  main  building  for  warmth 
during  the  long  cold  winters,  into  which  the  family 
withdrew,  to  blossom  forth  into  the  more  commodious 
wings  with  the  arrival  of  spring.  I  can  recall  about 
forty  houses  with  field-stone  main  buildings  and  wooden 
additions,  still  occupied. 

On  and  near  Angel  Hill  are  many  large  old  houses 
long  deserted  and  rapidly  falling  into  ruin.  One  of 
them  is  especially  interesting  as  it  was  abandoned  some 
twenty-five  years  ago  completely  furnished,  and  even 
to-day  much  of  the  furniture  is  left;  the  bedsteads  and 
feather  beds  are  rotting  on  the  bedroom  floors ;  carpets 
are  covered  in  places  with  growing  weeds  and  grass; 
great  holes  are  in  the  floors;  the  roof  and  windows  are 
largely  gone,  and  one  who  explores  its  mysteries  takes 
the  chance  of  a  bad  fall. 

The  churches  and  the  taverns  lasted  a  little  longer, 
as  they  were  generally  in  or  near  the  small  hamlets ;  but 
their  time  has  come,  and  all  over  the  country  are  closed 
churches  and  inns.  The  hamlets  have  not  escaped  and 
are  rapidly  shrinking. 

I  recall  a  beautiful  old  colonial  church  by  a  lakeside; 


feome  afcanboneb  3£ou*e*  83 

the  cushions  are  turned  up  in  the  pews  to  protect  them 
from  dust;  the  melodeon  stands  by  the  pulpit;  the 
hymnbooks  are  in  the  racks;  everything  waits  for  the 
congregation  which  never  comes. 

Many  of  the  hamlets  have  almost  disappeared.  A 
respect  for  their  feelings  prevents  my  calling  the  nearer 
ones  by  name.  Of  the  more  remote  "Welcome"  is 
typical ;  it  grew  up  around  the  junction  of  five  roads ;  a 
church;  a  couple  of  shops;  and  perhaps  a  dozen  houses 
or  so,  with  a  post  office  and  schoolhouse.  It  lies  in 
the  bottom  of  a  bowl-like  valley  and  one  looks  up  on 
all  sides  to  the  horizon,  outlined  against  the  sky  by 
the  rolling  bare  hilltops.  The  church  is  closed,  and  the 
school;  the  post  office  has  gone;  the  shop  failed  and 
shut  up,  because,  as  the  only  visible  inhabitant  told  us, 
the  people  were  too  dishonest  to  pay  their  bills.  Of  the 
houses,  seven  are  abandoned.  It  was  early  on  a  beauti- 
ful September  afternoon ;  not  a  soul  was  visible  but  our 
informant,  who  was  not  a  resident,  but  was  taking  care 
of  two  old  and  infirm  citizens  of  "Welcome."  One  of 
the  houses  was  a  really  beautiful  old  Colonial  house, 
spacious  and  in  perfect  condition.  Its  only  surviving 
occupant  was  an  elderly  woman,  who  failed  to  open  her 
door  to  repeated  knockings.  We  asked  the  one  visible 
human  being  if  she  wasn't  lonely  and  how  long  she 
would  stay;  she  said  that  she  was,  and  that  she  didn't 
think  she  could  stay  much  longer. 


84  Hegenbtf  of  a  J^ortfjent  County 

When,  on  a  second  visit,  we  were  admitted  to  the  old 
Colonial  house,  we  found  its  sole  occupant  to  be  a  de- 
lightful old  woman  of  well  on  toward  four  score  years, 
who  invited  us  in  and  seemed  glad  of  an  opportunity 
to  see  and  talk  to  outsiders.  She  told  us  how  she  had 
come  there  as  a  bride  upwards  of  sixty  years  ago,  and 
showed  us  over  the  really  fine  house,  which  was  about 
a  century  old,  and  clean  and  neat  as  could  be.  Her 
husband  had  died  years  ago  and  her  children  were  either 
dead  or  had  long  since  moved  to  larger  places;  they 
took  her  to  live  with  them  in  the  winter  time,  she  said, 
but  every  summer  she  returned  alone  to  the  old  house. 
We  talked  of  the  past  in  "Welcome"  and  she  told  us 
how  every  seat  in  the  abandoned  church  had  been  filled 
on  Sundays.  When  I  spoke  of  the  schoolhouse  which 
was  falling  down,  she  said  sadly,  ''There  are  no 
children  now." 

The  old  people  will  die,  perhaps  have  died ;  someone 
will  close  the  houses,  and  " Welcome"  will  have  nine, 
instead  of  seven,  of  its  dozen  homes  abandoned.  No 
wonder  the  cost  of  living  goes  up,  when  the  productive 
land  steadily  grows  less. 

We  left  "Welcome"  and  looked  back  down  on  it  with  a 
feeling  of  relief,  and  even  the  short  time  we  spent  there 
was  enough  to  give  us  a  restless  desire  to  leave  and  a 
dread  of  life  in  its  silent  and  terrible  loneliness.  Truly 
" Welcome"  has  become  "Farewell." 


£>ome  atianboneb  J^outfe*  85 

The  story  of  our  little  manufacturing  villages  is  the 
same;  the  factories  have  been  forced  by  competition 
to  close  and  the  workmen  and  women  have  moved 
away. 

We  were  rather  rich  in  mills,  and  beautiful  field-stone 
ones  at  that.  The  great  stone  building  at  Phoenix, 
after  standing  idle  for  years,  was  pulled  down  and  used 
to  build  the  new  hospital  at  Cooperstown ;  the  dam  has 
gone;  the  shop  has  fallen  into  the  Susquehanna  and 
most  of  the  little  village  is  abandoned  or  fallen  down. 

Hope  Factory  still  stands  on  the  main  road  to  Col- 
liers— a  beautiful  stone  building.  We  can  only  hope 
that  modern  commercial  life  can  find  some  use  for  it. 
A  quarter  mile  farther  up  the  Oak  Creek  are  the  ruins 
of  the  Otsego  Paper  Mill;  little  but  a  chimney  is  left. 
Across  the  stream  is  Toddsville;  the  metropolis  which 
grew  up  about  this  mill  and  the  Union  and  Hope 
Factories.  The  workmen's  houses  are  falling  down,  as 
are  some  of  the  better  ones,  but  the  fine  old  stone  "store" 
still  stands.  The  dam  is  gone,  and  of  course  with  it  the 
mill  pond,  with  its  multitude  of  white  pond  lilies  and 
red  cardinal  plants. 

Farther  up  the  Creek  are  the  broken  dam  and  ruins 
of  the  grist  mill  at  Fly  Creek  and,  opposite  them,  the 
dilapidated  saw  mill.  At  Oaksville  is  a  long  vacant 
factory — the  dam  is  gone,  but  the  stone  and  brick 
buildings  stand,  and  on  the  hill  above  them  is  the  fine 


86  3Ugenb£  of  a  J^ortfjcnt  County 

old   stone   superintendent's  house,   with  its   classical 
portico. 

Many  a  fortune  has  been  made  at  these  different 
mills,  and  when  I  was  a  boy,  they  were  still  running  at  a 
profit  to  their  owners;  but  the  times  were  already  get- 
ting difficult  for  them  and  they  followed  the  country 
gentlemen,  and  preceded  the  church  and  tavern,  into 
the  limbo  of  things  doomed  by  the  ever-changing  con- 
ditions of  modern  life. 

The  story  of  Clintonville  or,  as  it  was  often  called, 
Clinton  Mills,  is  a  good  illustration  of  the  fate  which  is 
overtaking  most  of  the  small  manufacturing  hamlets  of 
the  County.  Less  than  fifty  years  ago,  it  was  a  thriv- 
ing little  village  on  the  Susquehanna,  some  two  miles 
above  Milf ord ;  there  was  the  usual  dam  and  factory  or 
mill;  a  street  lined  with  houses;  a  shop,  and  a  railroad 
station  where  the  trains  stopped  regularly,  and  all  the 
life  and  activities  of  a  thriving  and  contented  rural 
community.  To-day  the  dam,  the  factory,  and  all  of 
the  houses  and  buildings,  except  four,  have  vanished 
completely.  Of  these  four,  two  are  abandoned  and 
falling  down ;  the  other  two  are  occupied,  but  when  the 
temporary  demand  for  houses  is  over  they  too  will  be 
vacated  and  fall  into  decay.  I  doubt  if  many  of  the 
people  living  in  the  neighborhood  to-day  know  that  the 
place  ever  had  a  name. 
All  these  evidences  of  a  dying  countryside  are  sad, 


&>ome  SKmnboneb  Jpou*e*  87 

but  they  lend  a  sentimental  charm  to  a  beautiful 
country. 

One  sometimes  finds  a  more  cheering  reminder  of  the 
past;  in  a  very  exclusive,  walled-in  burying  ground  near 
the  highway,  on  the  east  side  of  the  lake,  is  a  tomb- 
stone which,  after  the  usual  inscription,  giving  the 
date  of  death  as  upwards  of  a  century  ago,  sets  forth 
the  following  all-sufficient  epitaph: 

She  was  born  in  Boston 

Poor  thing!    Imagine  the  humiliation  of  having  to  die 
in  Otsego. 


THE  RED— THE  BLACK— AND  THE  WHITE 

MAN 

AN  old  letter  or  document,  an  arrow  or  spearhead, 
or  any  little  personal  belonging  of  those  who  are  long 
dead,  and  whom  we  never  saw,  often  is  sufficient  to 
arouse  the  imagination,  and  to  call  the  owner  or  writer 
back  from  oblivion,  to  move  for  a  time  through  our 
vision;  while  the  image  thus  created  may  not  be  true 
to  the  original  in  form  or  appearance,  at  least  it  has 
some  of  his  mental  and  moral  traits,  preserved  by  his 
handiwork. 

The  thousands  of  letters  and  documents  which  have 
survived  from  the  years  between  1750  and  1850,  can 
repeople  for  us  this  country,  and  clothe  it  with  an  air 
of  romance  which  may  have  been  lacking,  in  the  hard 
lives  of  the  frontiersmen  and  women.  Just  so  our 
Indian  relics  and  legends  fill  the  woods  once  more  with 
red  huntsmen  and  warriors,  squaws  and  papooses.  We 
cannot  all  see  them,  but  the  favored  amongst  us  can; 
it  is  one  of  the  sublime  gifts  of  the  very  young ;  within 
a  year  I  saw  the  touzled  yellow  head  of  a  youngster, 
hidden  in  the  tall  grass,  with  ready  bow  and  arrow, 
watching  for  the  expected  red  warrior. 

88 


,  JSlacfe,  anb  JJUjttc  iWan  89 


The  red  man  and  the  earlier  settlers  we  know  only 
in  this  way.  The  black  men,  mentioned  here,  I  knew 
personally  in  every  instance  but  one;  and  the  growth 
and  changes  of  the  town  and  country  have  taken  place, 
for  nearly  three  score  years,  under  my  eye. 

The  red  man  left  few  traces  of  his  stay  of  unknown 
centuries  at  Otsego;  the  apple  trees,  and  probably  the 
remains  of  a  clearing  near  the  entrance  to  the  Cooper 
grounds,  were  the  only  visible  evidence  of  his  occupancy 
of  the  land  for  a  part,  at  least,  of  each  year;  but  hidden 
by  the  woods  and  underbrush,  there  were  other  signs 
of  his  occupation  ;  in  places,  just  under  the  surface,  were 
found  the  ashes  of  his  camp  fires,  and  pieces  of  his  rude 
pottery,  and  of  broken  or  lost  stone  implements  and 
weapons;  in  other  places  were  the  bones  of  the  long 
dead  and  forgotten  residents. 

There  is  the  old  Chief  behind  the  River  Street  wall, 
and  two  skeletons  were  found  in  the  Fernleigh  grounds. 
In  the  fields,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Susquehanna,  in- 
cluded in  Fernleigh-Over,  have  been  discovered  great 
numbers  of  Indian  remains  of  all  kinds.  It  was  either 
the  scene  of  a  prehistoric  battle,  or  used  as  a  burying 
ground.  I  think  that  the  evidence  favors  the  battle- 
field. Long  ago,  when  it  was  merely  farmland  and 
frequently  cultivated,  we  used  to  follow  the  plow  to 
collect  the  stone  weapons  and  tools  which  were  turned 
up  every  year.  The  large  number  of  spearheads,  arrow- 


90  Heaenbg  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

heads,  and  stone  axes,  with  occasional  bones,  suggested 
a  great  battle. 

Once,  when  a  tree  blew  down,  clutched  in  the  fork  of 
two  roots,  and  overgrown  with  bark,  was  an  Indian 
skull.  A  wounded  warrior  had  dragged  himself  to  the 
foot  of  the  tree  and  there,  with  his  head  pillowed  be- 
tween two  roots,  died. 

Whether  the  mound  in  the  northeast  corner  of  this 
field  is  an  Indian  burial  mound  or  not  has  never  been 
determined,  but  in  it  have  been  reburied  the  bones  from 
time  to  time  found  in  the  neighborhood.  The  late  Mrs. 
Potter  had  the  tablet  which  marks  it  carved  and  placed 
where  it  is.  Walking  about  the  grounds  one  autumn 
day,  Dr.  Battershall  came  upon  this  tablet  and  mound 
and  wrote  on  an  old  letter  the  following  lines : 

MORTUI  TE  SALUTAMUS 

White  Man,  Greeting :  We,  near  whose  bones  you  stand, 
were  Iroquois.  The  wide  land  which  now  is  yours  was  ours. 
Friendly  hands  have  given  back  to  us  enough  for  a  tomb. 

(Inscription,    Fernleigh.) 

Engraved  upon  a  stone  on  a  fair  lawn, 
Where,  from  the  bosom  of  the  mountain  lake, 
The  Susquehanna  takes  its  winding  way, 
And  feels  its  first  strange  hunger  for  the  sea, 
I  read  these  words,  in  which  a  vanished  race 
Gives  salutation  and  pathetic  thanks 
For  deathly  wound  and  sepulture. 

Alas! 


JBlacfe,  anb  iHfjite  JWan  91 

Such  meed  and  recompense  to  those  swart  tribes 
Who  held  the  marches  of  the  wilderness 
And  threw  their  fealty  in  the  quivering  scale 
That  gave  the  Saxon  empire  of  the  West ! 

Their  shades  move  on  the  pictured  page  of  him, 
Who,  on  this  spot  flung  o'er  their  savagery 
The  Magic  of  Romance.     Their  stealthy  feet 
Creep  through  the  enchanted  forests  of  our  youth, 
But  creeping  ever  to  the  eventide, 
Where  vanish  shades  of  outworn  types. 

Farewell! 

And  greeting  to  yet  happier  hunting-grounds, 
Sons  of  the  twilight,  martyrs  of  the  dawn, 
Caught  in  the  logic  and  the  thrust  of  things ! 
The  weak  give  way  that  stronger  may  have  room 
For  sovereign  brain  and  soul  to  quell  the  brute. 
Thus,  in  the  epic  of  this  earth,  harsh  rhythms 
Are  woven,  that  break  the  triumph-song  with  moans 
And  death  cries.     Still  rolls  the  eternal  song, 
Setting  God's  theme  to  grander,  sweeter  notes, 
For  us  to  strike,  righting  old  savageries 
That  linger  in  the  twilights  of  the  dawn. 

Upon  this  sculptured  stone,  memorial 

Of  sacrificial  life,  the  cosmic  word 

I  read,  the  mystic  music  of  the  worlds. 

WALTON  W.  BATTERSHALL. 

Fernleigh,  June  24,  1903. 

Evidently  arrow  makers  had  lived  and  followed  their 
trade  at  two  spots  on  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna; 
one  on  the  east  side,  at  the  end  of  the  grounds  of  River- 


92  Hegenbi  of  a  Jlortfjern  Coutttp 

brink,  where  a  cool  spring  emptied  into  the  river,  and 
the  other,  on  the  west  bank,  at  the  foot  of  a  great  pine, 
the  stub  of  which  stood  for  years  in  the  field  just  below 
the  old  Hooker  place.  At  each  of  them  there  was  a 
great  accumulation  of  chips  of  flint  and  broken  or  par- 
tially finished  arrow  and  spear  heads;  they  could  be 
gathered  from  the  bottom  of  the  river  at  any  time. 

In  the  Cooper  burying  ground,  lying  at  right  angles 
to  the  graves  and  near  the  surface,  is  the  skeleton  of  a 
man.  He  was  first  disturbed  when  Susan  Fenimore 
Cooper's  grave  was  dug.  There  was  nothing  found  to 
identify  him.  He  was  probably  an  Indian,  but  possibly 
Levi  Kelley  who  was  hung  for  murder  in  the  year  1827, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  surreptitiously  buried  in  the 
graveyard. 

By  many  historians  Brant  is  considered  the  greatest 
of  Indian  chiefs;  he  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Sir 
William  Johnson  and  was  the  brother  of  Molly  Brant, 
Sir  William's  housekeeper,  who  was  the  mother  of  most 
of  Sir  William's  children ;  and  who  may  have  been  mar- 
ried to  Sir  William  by  some  Indian  ceremony.  If  the 
following  "memorial"  is  true,  Brant  in  some  ways 
shines  by  comparison  with  certain  of  his  white  con- 
temporaries. It  is  endorsed,  "A  Memorial  of  John 
Tunnicliff  Sufferings";  is  dated  twenty  years  after  the 
sufferings  complained  of  and  shows,  at  least,  a  good 
memory  and  a  tenacious  pursuit  of  compensation. 


,  Placfe,  anb  EHfjtte  ftlan  93 


A  Memorandom  of  the  sufferings  &  the  Many  losses  Sus- 
tained by  the  subscriber,  from  The  hands  of  the  Contenental 
Troops  &c.  When  Sir  John  Johnson  and  Several  Others  in 
Try  on  County  was  disarmed,  I  with  many  Of  the  inhabi- 
tants was  Brought  to  Major  Funday's  on  the  Mohawk 
River  where  we  Took  the  Oath  Newtrality  and  signed  a 
bond  on  promise  of  being  protected. 

On  the  loth  day  of  August  1778  the  inhabitants  of  our 
Back  Settlements  was  partly  Obliged  to  fly  from  their 
farms,  while  the  other  part  was  apprehended  &  Brougt 
down  Prisoners  —  together  with  our  horses  —  Cows  —  & 
Sheep  —  which  were  drove  in  the  front  while  We  prisoners 
were  Strongly  guarded  with  fixt?  Bayonets  and  if  we  did 
Not  Please  the  Captain  and  his  party,  with  our  Manner  of 
Traveling  —  we  were  obliged  to  mend  our  pace  On  the 
point  of  their  fixted  Bayonets,  —  thus  we  were  compeled  to 
march  till  we  came  Near  Cherry-  Valley  where  a  halt  was 
made,  until  a  drum  &  fife  arived,  —  then  we  were  conducted 
to  the  Fort,  by  the  Rogues  March  —  when  we  came  Near 
the  fort  —  we  was  drawn  up  in  a  line  at  which  time  —  insult 
followed  insult,  —  the  Officers  &  Soldiers  first  coming  to  one 
—  And  telling  him  that  he  Should  Be  hanged  —  &  then  to 
another  &  so  on  till  the  last  pointing  out  the  different  deaths 
we  should  Suffer,  —  when  their  threatnings  and  diversion 
was  over  We  was  Commanded  to  March  under  a  Strong 
guard  —  towards  albany  —  we  did  so  —  but  was  Ordered  to 
halt  under  the  Gallows,  —  where  we  received  another  sort 
of  ill  treatment  —  Ruff  Challinging  the  Cloths  upon  our 
Backs  &  Saying  we  Stole  them  from  the  solders  —  by  this 
time  a  large  Mob  was  collected  by  which  we  were  Con- 
duced—with Shouts—  Huzzas  Throwing  Of  dirt  &  Musick 
playing  the  Rogues  March  till  we  was  Locked  up  in  a 
dungeon  —  their  kept  Close  till  the  remainder  of  our  property 
was  Wantonly  taken. 


94  Hegetrtig  of  a  JBtortfjern  Cotmtp 

My  dwelling  house — deary  house  Barn  Stables  &  Sheep 
house  all  consumed  by  fire.  My  Crops  of  hay  corn  & 
Buildings,  with  my  household  goods  &  farmary  working 
tools — together  with  a  large  Quantity  of  good  Cheese  with 
a  eleven  Stands  of  Beehives  well  filled — the  which  at  that 
time  was  worth  one  Thousand  pounds — all  intirely  dis- 
trowed, — My  Neighbours  &  fellow  Sufferers  Oblidged  to 
support  themselves  by  working — from  house  to  house — & 
to  accomplish  the  whole — and  a  rightfull  Coullouring  on 
their  unjust  proceedings — were  published  in  the  Common 
Print  as  Enemies  to  the  country. 

The  above  Mentioned  Cows  were  Sixteen  in  number  all 
very  good — which  was  drove  Before  me  to  Cherry- Vally — 
which  I  have  Never  seen  Since — Nor  received  any  thing  in 
lew  of  them —  the  Number  of  Sheep  that  was  then  taken 
from  me  was  forty  three — I  suppose  Equal  to  the  Best 
sheep  in  America — one  of  which  was  an  English  Ram  Which 
Cost  me  a  Journey  to  England — Six  lambs  I  purchased 
But  five  of  them  died  On  the  voyage — My  Young  stock  of 
horned  Cattle  (Seven  in  Number)  I  received  again  the 
which  I  found  on  the  south  east  side  of  hudsons  River — by 
the  help  of  a  Replevy  &  the  Sheriff  of  Albany — this  Young 
stock  was  put  to  grass  by  William  Hudson  Ballard — Cap- 
tain of  the  sixth  Massachusetts  Rigement — who  com- 
manded the  party  of  soldiers  which  took  Me  &  my  property 
from  my  house — Some  part  of  my  horses  I  got  Again  &  a 
part  I  received  some  pay  for — the  Commissioners  used  me 
well  they  said  Not  any  Body  had  any  Business  with  me — 
Mr.  Jerr  Van  ransselear  went  to  the  Governor  To  know 
what  to  do — the  Governour  ordered  General  Starks  to  be 
sent  out  of  albany  and  said  he  was  as  bad  as  the  Indians — 
John  M.  Beckman  being  present  the  Tears  came  in  his  eyes 
when  he  heard  my  Complaint — Matthew  Visher  said  I  must 
after  The  war  Sew  any  one  that  had  any  of  My  property 


,  antJ  JUfjite  jfttan  95 


in  his  hand  or  had  been  possest  with  it  —  Said  I  had  a  Just 
right  to  Sew  for  it  —  and  if  I  could  not  find  such  people  — 
They  would  pay  me  for  it  —  but  I  said  Your  Money  is  grow- 
ing worse  &  might  be  But  little  help  —  he  said  I  should  be 
paid  with  such  Money  as  would  Buy  me  as  good  a  Stock  as 
I  had  lost  —  this  hath  been  the  Cause  of  my  Not  seeking  Relief 
Sooner  —  for  I  was  very  desirous  of  knowing  what  was  be- 
come of  Wm.  Hudson  Ballard  Who  was  the  Man  that  com- 
manded the  Soldiers  to  take  Me  &  my  Property  —  the  last 
year  I  was  told  he  was  dead  —  as  I  am  likely  to  be  caled  upon 
for  quit  Rents  for  my  Estate  which  I  was  at  that  time  in 
possession  —  part  of  which  is  sold  to  put  me  &  my  Family 
in  a  way  to  live  —  I  was  kept  off  my  farm  for  the  space  of 
Seven  Years  —  Which  on  My  return  was  a  Bed  of  Briers  — 
without  either  fence  or  Building     I  was  obliged  to  sell  up- 
wards of  a  thousand  acres  of  land  to  help  —  put  my  family 
farm  &  Stock  in  a  way  to  live  —    But  that  was  not  Sufficient 
—  for  the  farm  is  Still  Much  in  debt  —  I  have  Not  given  any 
deed,  to  Subject  those  who  purchased  to  pay  the  Quit 
Rents  —  this  is  in  danger  of  Ruening  Me  —  who  was  the  cause 
of  sending  Such  a  gang  of  soldiers  which  consisted  of  old 
privateers  men  —  for  had  these  been  our  own  Militia  we 
could  have  found  them  again  after  the  war  —  if  honesty  & 
Industry  is  to  give  place  to  such  usage  —  then  Roguery  is 
the  only  thing  that  Will  flourrish  —  when  I  was  in  my 
Strength  &  prosperity  in   the   space  of  Twenty  Years  I 
Never  Cleared  so  Much  value  as  I  lost  By  Captain  Ballard. 
At  the  Time  Springfield  was  cut  of  —  the  Indians  Came 
Back  past   My  house  with   Several   of  the   Inhabitants 
Prisoners  —  as  soon  as  the  first  Indians  came  up  they  said 
we  are  Come  for  some  of  your  Stock  —  for  the  prissonors  to 
live  upon  —  or  we  must  unavoidably  Starve  —  I  told  them 
I  had  taken  the  Oath  of  Newtrality  &  signed  a  Bond  &  was 
fully  Resolved  Not  to  do  any  thing  to  the  contrary  —  I 


96  ICesenb*  of  a  J^ortfjern  Count? 

asked  them  who  was  their  Commander  they  said  he  was 
behind — when  he  came  up  they  pointed  to  an  Indian  which 
they  said  was  Captain  Brant —  I  told  him  My  Condition 
&  Beged  him  to  go  his  way — he  said  he  could  not  his 
prisoners  must  starve — upon  My  giving  him  flat  denial — 
one  of  the  party  came  to  me  &  said  for  God's  sake  what  are 
you  about  if  you  have  any  regard  for  life  let  them  have 
some  stock — Captain  Brant  said  if  you  will  go  &  your 
family  &  stock  you  shall  be  paid  for  what  we  take — and 
what  is  left  behind  your  losses  shall  be  made  good  &  you 
shall  be  well  used.  I  said  I  had  Rather  die  on  the  spot — 
when  I  see  I  could  not  get  shut  of  them  I  told  one  of -the 
Boys  to  turn  out  a  Couple  of  cows — but  I  neither  would 
Turn  them  out  nor  set  any  price  on  them,  but  Brant  said  I 
should  be  paid  for  them — soon  after  peace  was  proclaimed 
— then  Captain  Brant  Sent  me  down  Twelve  pounds 
Halifax  Money  for  my  Two  Cows. 

JOHN  TUNNICLIFF. 
Otsego  June  30th  AD  1798 

Poor  John  Tunnicliff !  He  cuts  rather  a  sorry  figure ! 
Evidently  a  tory,  and  apparently  an  associate  of  Sir 
John  Johnson's  and  doubtless  of  Walter  Butler's  he 
emerges  from  obscurity  and  passes  before  us  merely 
because  his  petition  has  survived;  and  to  emphasize 
the  inferiority  of  some  of  his  race  to  the  vanished  red 
man. 

The  two  following  documents  are  all  else  we  know  of 
him.  He  evidently  suspected  his  neighbors  near  Cana- 
joharie.  We  wonder  whether  he  ever  found  his  cows 
or  got  paid  for  them,  and  can't  help  hoping  that  he 


J?lacfe,  anb  JUfjtte  iflan  97 


didn't.  He  must  have  lived  somewhere  not  far  from 
the  village  of  Springfield  and  probably  between  it  and 
the  Mohawk.  He  went  up  and  down  through  the 
wilderness  seeking  his  property  : 

The  Bearer  John  Tunnicliff  has  our  Permission  to  go  to 
the  House  of  one  Robert  Nellis,  or  wherever  he  may  be  in 
Tryon  County  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  his  Property  in 
the  Possession  of  the  said"  Nellis  in  an  amiable  way  without 
having  recourse  to  law  for  a  recovery  of  the  same.  This 
pass  to  continue  in  force  for  the  space  of  fourteen  days  from 
the  date. 
Albany  yth  October  1780 

MAT  VISSCHER    )  Commissioners 
SAML  STRINGER  >  for 

ISSAC  D.  FONDA  )  Conspiracies 

By  Samuel  Stringer  John  M.  Beeckman  &  Jer  V.  Rens- 
selaer  Commissioners  for  detecting  &  defeating  Conspiracies 
fee. 

Permission  is  hereby  Granted  to  John  Tunnicleaf  & 
John  Rowbottom  to  pass  and  repass  from  this  City  to  the 
Butternuts  in  Tryon  County,  they  having  given  surety  for 
their  peaceable  Conduct  and  to  Return  again  to  this  their 
present  place  of  abode  on  or  before  the  eighth  day  of 
October  next. 

Given  under  my  hand  by  order  of  the  Board 

JER  V.  RENSSELAER  one  of 
the  Board. 

Albany  2ist  Sep,  1780. 
To  all  concerned 


98  Hesenbtf  of  a  Jlortfjem  Count? 

On  a  very  early  list  of  the  owners  of  the  Croghan 
Patent,  made  by  R^  Smith,  "John  Tuniclift"  is  set 
down  as  owning  three  thousand  acres  "near  the 
Oaksne,"  but  his  name  does  not  appear  on  the  old  maps. 

The  following  bill  rendered  at  about  the  time  of 
John's  misfortune  shows  the  activities  of  the  militia 
and  how  they  were  fed : 

June  29th  1777  General  Harkemans  Bill  then  sent  by 
General  Harkemans  desire  3 1  ft).  Cheses  to  Chery  Valey  for 
Ofisers  on  thare  Persueat  after  the  Indians  on  the  Susque- 
hanna. 

Wate  50  ft),  at  on  shilling  2.10.0 

I  supose  as  the  Melishe  might  be  250  men 
Which  staid  all  night  10.0.0 

I2.IO.O 

June  29th  1777,  on  thare  return  they  Eat  me  a  Larg  Oven 
full  of  Bred  and  as  much  Chees  as  tha  Liked  and  18  Cows 
milk  Night  and  Morning  and  all  night  17  Horses  in  the 
Moeing  ground. 

Brant  did  burn  Springfield,  but  no  one  was  killed 
and,  had  he  been  in  command  when  Cherry  Valley  was 
attacked,  probably  many  of  the  horrors  of  that  massacre 
would  have  been  prevented. 

The  black  man  almost  has  disappeared  from  our  coun- 
try; where  once  he  filled  an  important  place.  In  the 
early  days  negroes  were  bought  and  sold  and  most  of 
the  colored  people  of  the  village  were  descended  from 


Bcti,  $lacfc,  anb  JEfjttc  jfflan  99 

slaves  brought  here  by  the  early  settlers.  Judge 
Cooper  brought  some  with  him  as  did  the  Husbands 
and  other  families.  Among  the  existing  old  papers  are 
many  bills  of  sale  of  negroes,  men,  wenches,  and  children. 
It  was  a  kindly  servitude,  where  the  slave  had  all  the 
comforts  of  life  and  often  the  affection  and  friendship  of 
the  master. 

Joseph  Stewart,  "The  Governor,"  was  for  30  years 
butler  and  body  servant  at  Otsego  Hall  and  its  prede- 
cessor. He  now  lies  in  the  corner  of  the  Cooper  burying 
ground,  while  "Joe  Tom"  and  "Jennie  York"  lie  in  the 
easterly  part  of  Christ  Churchyard,  in  what  was  long 
and  disrespectfully  known  as  "Nigger  Heaven." 

Jennie's  unique  epitaph  "She  had  her  faults,  but  was 
kind  to  the  poor ' '  has  made  her  famous.  For  years  all  of 
it  had  sunk  out  of  sight  except  the  words :  "Jennie  York : 
She  had  her  faults."  Poor  Jennie!  She  was  an  in- 
veterate thief,  but  stole  largely  to  give  to  her  poorer  or 
less  fortunate  friends. 

Of  all  the  colored  folk  of  Cooperstown  "Joe  Tom" 
easily  stands  first.  He  once  belonged  to  the  Husband's 
family.  Never  was  a  blacker  black  man,  never  a  bigger 
one  in  every  way,  and  never  a  more  talented  one.  He 
played  the  triangle  for  young  and  old  to  dance;  he 
cooked  at  all  picnics,  and  his  chowder  was  wonderful; 
he  rowed  the  boat  and  shouted  to  Natty  Bumppo  op- 
posite the  echo;  he  rang  the  church  bell  and  warmed 


ioo          Hegente  of  a  JBtortfjern  Coimtp 

the  church,  and,  with  the  same  cheerful  smile  and  kindly 
manner,  he  dug  the  grave  and  buried  the  dead — or  those 
of  them  who  died  in  the  Episcopal  faith  or  had  other 
good  claim  to  a  place  in  Christ  Churchyard.  Like 
most  of  his  race,  in  those  days,  he  was  a  great  respecter 
of  persons,  and  as  he  grew  older  more  and  more  drew  a 
sharp  social  line. 

When  his  time  came,  and  he  joined  his  people  in 
"Nigger  Heaven,"  all  the  town  mourned,  and  the  youth 
of  the  village,  to  whom  dollars  looked  bigger  than  cart 
wheels,  bought  and  put  up  his  stone  by  subscription. 
I  can  still  hear  his  triangle  tinkle;  see  his  gleaming 
teeth,  and  hear  his  stentorian  voice  calling  off  the  ' Ag- 
gers" of  the  square  dances. 

Looking  back  through  the  vista  of  nearly  three  score 
years,  one  can  see  many  other  dusky  faces — with  glit- 
tering teeth  and  bright  eye — all  kindly — all  helping  to 
make  life  attractive:  there  was  "Joe,"  old  Joe  Tom's 
daughter,  and  Charlie  Burhans.  Charlie  never  was 
young  so  far  as  I  can  remember.  He  was  the  great 
Nimrod  of  his  people.  He  resembled  a  huge  bundle  of 
rags.  Apparently  he  never  discarded  any  clothing, 
but  merely  added  anything  he  acquired  from  time  to 
time.  He  had  an  enormous  muzzle-loading  gun,  and 
the  most  wonderful  and  indescribable  stutter.  When 
he  tried  to  speak  his  whole  face  shook  and  his  jaw  fairly 
danced.  Charlie's  favorite  game  was  ground  hogs,  of 


,  JSlacb,  anil  UHljitc  jtflan  101 


which  he  was  very  fond.  Unhappy  was  the  woodchuck 
which  Charlie  located.  He  always  got  him  in  the  end. 
One  would  see,  in  a  field,  a  motionless  drab  object, 
which  might  be  a  stone  or  a  pile  of  old  cloth  or  bags, 
but  which  was  Charlie.  It  moved  slowly  and  at  long 
intervals  —  for  the  woodchuck  it  was  death,  certain 
and  relentless. 

Henry  Williams  was  an  aristocrat  among  his  people 
—  tall,  straight,  and  handsome  ;  he  hunted  with  the  white 
sportsmen  of  the  village,  particularly  with  old  Dan 
Boden.  Many  are  the  partridges  which  I  have  seen 
them  flush  in  Bowers'  woods  along  the  river  and  lake  ; 
Hen,  with  the  dog,  would  follow  the  woods  while  Boden 
poled  a  boat  and  shot  over  the  water.  They  were  a 
striking  pair;  Boden  with  his  white  hair,  tall  and 
slender,  and  as  good-looking  for  one  race  as  was 
Williams  for  the  other. 

In  those  times  democracy  reigned,  at  least  among  the 
whites.  There  played  with  us  a  little  black  boy, 
Johnnie  Jackson,  who  felt  his  color  so  much  that  he 
used  to  say  that,  if  it  would  make  him  white,  he  would 
willingly  be  skinned  alive.  What  became  of  Johnnie  and 
Hen  Williams  I  don't  know  —  they  just  faded  out  of  life. 

Another  character  of  the  colored  people  was  Black 
Dick.  He  looked  after  old  William  Averell  and  drove 
his  team  of  black^coach  horses  and  great  coach,  so  large 
that  it  was  familiarly  known  as  "the  Ark." 


102          Hegenb*  of  a  J^ortftern  Count? 

Dick  was  the  last  of  the  old  colored  body  servants 
who  made  life  easy  and  pleasant  for  their  masters. 
When  years  ago  "Marse  Averell"  died  and  was  buried 
by  old  "Joe  Tom"  in  Christ  churchyard,  Dick  was 
inconsolable.  Soon  stories  were  being  whispered  about 
town  of  a  ghostly  figure  seen  in  the  churchyard,  which 
seemed  to  rise  from  the  ground  and  move  slowly  about. 
Many  townspeople  claimed  to  have  seen  it,  and  the  timid 
avoided  the  streets  about  the  graveyard  after  dark. 

Those  were  the  days  of  real  darkness  too ;  the  streets 
were  only  lighted,  here  and  there,  by  a  kerosene  lamp, 
and  the  wayfarer  after  dark  carried  a  lantern,  generally 
with  a  candle  in  it.  The  writer  well  remembers  the 
blackness  of  those  nights,  an  impenetrable  blackness 
which  seemed  to  rise  before  one  like  a  wall ;  this  gave  a 
ghost  a  great  advantage. 

The  stories  of  the  "hant,"  seen  moving  in  the  depth 
of  the  graveyard,  were  so  persistent,  that  finally  a  com- 
mittee of  the  braver  spirits  of  the  town  decided  to  spend 
a  night  among  the  graves  watching.  In  due  time  they 
were  rewarded;  a  shadowy  form  was  seen  to  rise  and 
move  about  old  Averell's  grave.  After  the  first  shock 
was  over,  they  closed  in  on  the  ghostly  visitant  and 
found  old  Black  Dick;  faithful  even  after  death,  he 
crept  nightly  to  his  master's  grave,  and  watched  and 
mourned  over  it.  His  grief  had  unsettled  his  mind, 
and  he  lived  but  a  short  time. 


,  anb  ZJUntc  jftlan  103 


These  Red  Men  and  Black  Men  were  —  many  of  them 
—white  in  heart  and  soul,  more  so  perhaps  than  some 
of  the  dominant  race,  which  gradually  crowded  them 
out  of  our  countryside. 

The  books  of  Judge  Cooper  and  of  the  Settlement 
Shop  teem  with  intimate  details  of  the  early  life  of  the 
village  and  county.  In  one  is  an  agreement  of  employ- 
ment, which  is  a  bit  of  a  shock  to  us  in  its  recognition 
of  the  personal  liberty  of  the  employed  in  allowing  him 
"the  last  day  in  each  month  in  which  to  get  drunk." 
An  honest  recognition  of  human  frailty  and  of  one  of 
the  very  common  pleasures  of  frontier  life  in  those  days. 

Judge  Cooper,  when  he  rented  his  house  for  the 
winter  of  1798,  paid  two  dollars  a  week  board  for  any 
members  of  his  family  who  remained  in  it  and  three 
shillings  extra  per  person  when  he  "makes  a  dinner  for 
his  friends  "  and  "on  all  occasions  finds  his  own  liquors." 

In  one  is  written  the  contract  for  all  the  carpenter 
work  on  the  Old  Stone  House.  It  is  worth  repeating 
as  showing  the  informality  of  such  transactions  in  those 
days.  The  house  is  here  to  speak  for  the  honesty  of  the 
contractor. 

Articles  of  Agreement  made  this  fifth  day  of  November, 
1803,  Between  William  Cooper  and  Cyrenus  Clark  —  viz: 
the  said  Cyrenus  Clark  agrees  to  do  all  the  Carpenter  and 
Joiner  work  that  is  and  ought  to  be  done  of  in  and  to  a  cer- 
tain Stone  House  that  the  said  William  is  now  about  erecting 


104          Uegenbs  of  a  Jfrortfjent  Count? 

on  the  corner  of  Water  and  Second  Streets  in  length  forty 
two  feet  and  in  Breadth  Thirty  six  feet  to  be  finished  in  a 
masterly  and  workmanlike  manner  from  the  bottom  of  the 
Seller  to  the  turning  of  the  Key  of  the  Front  Door.  The 
work  to  be  done  in  the  following  manner — good  and  work- 
manlike stairs  from  the  Seller  to  the  Trap  Door  on  the  Roof 
— to  have  four  Rooms  on  the  first  Floor  a  hall  and  China 
Room  to  be  wainscotted  with  Pine  Work  and  every  other 
way  finished  as  a  House  wherein  the  said  William  now 
lives.  The  second  story  to  be  laid  off  with  a  Hall  and  five 
Rooms  and  finished  in  like  manner  as  the  house  wherein  the 
said  William  now  lives.  There  are  to  be  nine  windows  in 
front,  four  windows  in  the  Gable  and  East  besides  the 
Garret  Windows  and  two  in  the  Garret  in  the  West  End, 
five  windows  in  the  rear.  The  said  William  Cooper  to  find 
all  the  materials  for  said  House  of  every  kind  and  the 
said  Cyrenus  Clark  to  find  himself  and  hew  all  Timber  for 
said  House.  The  Front  Door  to  have  a  handsome  Portico 
with  seats.  Two  outside  Seller  Doors  and  the  said  Cyrenus 
is  to  receive  for  all  said  work  five  hundred  Dollars. 

WILLIAM  COOPER 
CYRENUS  CLARK 

The  miscellaneous  character  of  the  currency  in  cir- 
culation in  Cooperstown,  in  1796,  is  shown  by  a  deposit 
sent  to  an  Albany  Bank  by  Judge  Cooper : 

2560      Dolls,  in  Silver 
935>^        "    "  Paper 
540      Crowns 
36      E.  Guineas 
7      Half      " 


,  JSlacfe,  anb  Wjite  jfttan  105 


Half  Joes  £i734-i2 

15      French  Guineas 
6^  Pistoles 
i      Moidore 
The  cash  taken  at  the  Bank  4,461  Dolls,  and  50  cts. 

A  cosmopolitan  settlement:  I  doubt  if  New  York 
could  do  much  better  to-day.  There  should  be  added 
to  this  list,  Pork,  Ashes,  Maple  Sugar,  and  Wheat,  all 
of  which  passed  as  currency  —  but  not  at  the  Bank. 

Here  are  some  things  told  by  the  account  book  of 
the  Settlement  store  : 

Charity  Graves  bought  four  pair  of  stockings  for 
£i.  II  sh.  in  1807;  Ralph  Worthington  bought  a  quart 
of  rum  for  himself  on  June  27,  1807,  for  2  s  &  2  d  and  a 
piece  of  ribbon  for  his  wife  at  6d;  On  June  29,  Abner 
Graves  had  a  pint  of  rum  for  i  sh  ;  Abner  had  rum  and 
brandy  and  sugar  every  few  days.  Trinity  Church 
had  an  account  and  once,  at  least,  bought  rum,  but 
most  of  its  purchases  were  for  Christ  Church  building. 
Recompense  Graves  was  a  great  buyer  of  rum  and  sugar 
and  tea.  A  quart  of  rum  lasted  about  two  days.  He 
or  she,  I  know  not  which,  was  fond  of  fine  clothes,  as 
the  account  opens  with  eighteen  yards  of  muslin  at  2 
sh.  a  yard  and  closes  with  three  and  one  half  yards  of 
velvet  at  9  sh.  a  yard. 

The  account  books  of  those  days  were  quite  gossipy 
and  went  much  into  detail.  We  know  from  them  for 


io6  ILegenbi  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

whom  the  purchases  were  made,  and  what  the  debtor 
did  and  where  he  lived : 

Herman  Pier  of  Pierstown  bought  an  Umbrella  for 
19  sh.  John  M.  Bowers  bought  "3^  yds.  of  'Velvet' 
Ribbon  for  Mrs.  B."  in  Feby.  1807;  "i  Ib.  Hyson  Tea 
for  Felix  12  sh."  and  on  May  7  "i  Umbrella  for  self 
19  sh."  "Mrs.  Ann  Carey  of  Springfield"  and  Miss 
Carey  bought  great  quantities  of  gloves  and  household 
supplies.  Ziba  Roberson  bought  silk  for  his  wife. 
Judge  Cooper  bought  many  things  for  " Betty"  and 
"Sarah"  and  Mrs.  Ransom  and  some  things  for  Allen 
and  gave  a  pair  of  blankets  to  Walker;  all  in  1807. 

The  "Waste  Book"  kept  by  R.  R.  Smith  when  he 
ran  the  Settlement  store  and  dated  1790-2  is  less  in- 
timate in  its  entries  but  curious  as  showing  frontier 
prices: 

John  Rooseboom  paid  8  sh.  for  a  shovel  and  Jacob 
Morris  10  sh.  I  d  for  a  pair  of  shoes.  Rum  in  those 
years  cost  5  sh  &  6d.  a  gallon,  and  there  was  an  immense 
quantity  sold.  Tea  was  3  sh  6d  a  pound  and  stockings 
5  sh  &  lod  a  pair.  Calico  was  5  sh.  a  yard  and  thimbles 
3d.  A  spelling  book  cost  I  sh.  8d  (which  may  explain 
some  bad  spelling)  and  Blankets  £i  12  sh.  a  pair. 

Other  things  than  books  tell  tales  of  those  times: 
two  little  silver  spoons — tied  with  a  pink  ribbon  and 
marked  "H.  D.,"  small,  light,  very  thin,  and  showing 
the  marks  of  teeth  in  the  bowls — vividly  suggest  their 


,  JBlacfe,  anb  Hfflfjite  iWan  107 


one-time  owner,  Helen  Dunbar.  When  she  lived  and 
died  the  spoons  unfortunately  cannot  tell  us,  but  we 
know  where  —  in  Colonel  Dunbar  's  old  house,  part  brick 
and  part  wood,  now  abandoned;  the  brick  part  standing 
with  open  doors  and  windows;  surrounded  by  its  over- 
grown gardens  and  lawns;  its  ornamental  trees  cut 
down  ;  its  wooden  additions  vanished  and  its  great  out- 
buildings flattened  to  the  ground.  Somehow  these 
spoons  have  the  magic  touch  to  restore  the  great  house 
and  its  surroundings,  and  we  see  it  again  teeming  with 
life.  Among  the  phantoms,  Helen  Dunbar,  small, 
dainty,  attractive,  surrounded  by  friends  and  admirers, 
without  a  thought  of  the  dismal  fate  the  future  held 
for  the  old  house. 

Then  there  are  six  great  silver  forks  which  tell  an- 
other story.  They  are  marked  "  M  "  f  or  '  '  Morehouse  '  ' 
and  belonged  to  the  builder  of  Woodside.  They  nearly 
cost  their  owner  his  election  years  ago.  In  those  days 
two  -pronged  forks,  of  base  metal,  were  good  enough  for 
anyone,  and  four-pronged  silver  forks  were  the  badge 
of  intolerable  aristocratic  tendencies. 

In  the  heat  of  the  campaign,  Judge  Morehouse's 
opponent  made  against  him  the  terrible  charge  of  being 
at  heart  an  aristocrat,  and,  in  proof  of  it  pointed  to 
these  heavy  four-pronged  silver  forks  which  he  accused 
the  Judge  of  actually  using  at  his  daily  meals. 

The  battle  waged  fiercely,  but  Judge  Morehouse  won. 


io8  Hegenbg  of  a  JBtortljent  Count? 

After  his  victory  he  gave  a  great  reception  to  his  friends 
and  opponents.  It  was  doubtless  one  of  those  old- 
fashioned  country  parties,  where  the  first  guest  arrives 
about  noon  and  ties  his  team  to  a  tree,  and  the  last 
leaves  about  two  A.M.  In  the  center  of  the  dining- 
room,  in  open  and  jeering  defiance,  hung  from  the  ceil- 
ing, a  dozen  of  those  heavy  four-pronged  silver  forks. 

It  was  Judge  Morehouse  who  gambled  away  Wood- 
side  at  Hyde  Hall,  and  who  after  moving  out  never 
looked  at  it  until  he  was  able  to  buy  it  back  again.  It  is 
said  that  when  daily  he  crossed  Main  Street  he  always 
turned  his  face  to  the  west  so  as  not  to  see  his  old  home. 

The  village  of  Cooperstown  was  favored,  beyond 
most  towns  of  its  size,  in  the  character  of  its  residents 
and  visitors.  Among  the  former  was  a  long  list  of  very 
able  and  well-known  men  and  the  latter  included  some 
of  the  best  known  men  of  their  times,  here  and  abroad. 
Its  hospitality  was  most  lavish,  its  society  delightful  and 
cultured,  and  the  struggle  for  life  and  money,  if  it  ex- 
isted, kept  well  in  the  background.  The  churches  were 
numerous  and  prosperous;  the  former  due  to  Judge 
Cooper's  announcement  that  he  would  give  a  lot  to  any 
religious  society  which  would  put  up  a  building.  One 
of  the  treats  of  my  youth  was  to  see  the  Baptists 
dipped  in  the  Susquehanna  at  the  outlet  of  the  lake. 
We  always  went  hoping  that  one  at  least  would  slip 
from  the  parson's  grasp  and  drift  off  down  the  river; 


,  JBlacfe,  anb  JUfnte  dfWan  109 


but  I  don't  remember  that  any  ever  were  lost  in  this 
way. 

The  town  in  those  days  was  relatively  and  actually 
a  much  more  important  place  than  it  is  now.  All  of 
the  big  houses,  now  closed  for  most  of  the  year,  then 
were  the  homes  of  their  owners  and  open  and  occupied 
all  the  time  except  for  an  occasional  trip  away  by  some 
of  the  family.  There  were  no  factories  in  the  village, 
but  it  was  the  market  town  of  a  very  rich  and  prosper- 
ous farming  community.  The  Main  Street,  from  the 
Cooper  grounds  west,  was  lined  with  hitching  posts, 
and,  on  Saturday  afternoons,  every  one  had  a  team 
tied  to  it  while  the  farmer  and  his  wife,  and  often  his 
children,  did  their  shopping. 

For  years  hops  made  this  country  rich,  and  built 
many  of  the  great  farmhouses  still  standing.  The 
Otsego  County  hop  was  considered  the  best  grown  in 
the  world.  Every  one  grew  hops  and  it  was  thought 
that  they  couldn't  be  grown  anywhere  in  this  country 
except  in  our  neighborhood.  Extraordinary  profits 
were  made  and  it  was  not  unusual  for  a  hop  grower  to 
make  the  value  of  his  farm  out  of  one  crop.  Prices 
once  reached  one  dollar  and  sixty  cents  a  pound  and 
the  cost  of  production  was  about  twelve  cents.  The 
crop  was  a  very  speculative  one,  which  added  to  its 
interest.  Buyers  came  from  everywhere  and  thou- 
sands of  "  pickers"  from  the  neighboring  cities. 


1 10  Hegente  of  a  Jlorrtjent  Count? 

This  hop-picking  time  was  not  without  its  suppressed 
excitements.  Much  hard  liquor  was  absorbed  and 
the  usual  number  of  free  rights  resulted.  Before  and 
after  the  actual  picking  began  and  finished,  great  crowds 
of  tramps  and  city  toughs  gathered  in  camps  in  the 
woods  and  rumors  of  intended  raids  on  the  town  were 
frequent.  The  law-abiding  citizen  got  out  and  oiled  his 
revolver  and  became  an  actual  menace  to  his  neighbor. 

The  police  force  showed  unwonted  activity  and  the 
oil  lamps  were  allowed  to  burn  all  night,  instead  of 
only  until  eleven  P.M.,  the  normal  retiring  hour. 

The  police  force  of  those  days  was  unique.  It  com- 
bined inefficiency  with  charity.  There  were  two  mem- 
bers, both  cripples,  who  patrolled  the  town  together, 
during  the  perilous  days  of  "hop  picking."  One  of 
them  had  one  leg  and  two  arms,  and  carried  a  lantern — 
the  other  had  two  legs  and  one  arm  and  carried  a  club. 
However,  they  proved  ample  protection  against  the 
raids  which  never  came  off.  Many  a  time  has  the 
writer,  with  his  companions,  listened  to  the  tales  of  ad- 
venture of  this  patrol,  told  on  a  street  corner  by  the 
dim  light  of  their  lantern. 

Hop  City  vanished  with  the  passing  of  the  hop.  Its 
buildings  lined  the  river  road  from  the  Fly  Creek  road 
to  that  to  Phoenix.  It  was  on  the  land  of  "Jimmy" 
Clark — perhaps  the  largest  hop  grower  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. He  had  well  over  a  hundred  acres  in  his  yards 


&eb,  JSlacfe,  anb  TOtte  jKIan  1 1 1 

and  employed  between  six  and  seven  hundred  city 
pickers.  They  had  to  be  housed  and  fed  and  taken 
care  of.  To  meet  this  demand,  Hop  City  grew  up.  It 
had  its  jail,  its  court  room,  its  restaurants  and,  of 
course,  its  dwellings.  Jimmy  organized  a  rough  and 
ready  municipal  government.  Justice  was  adminis- 
tered and  order  maintained  by  selected  members  of  as 
tough  a  community  as  ever  collected  anywhere. 

The  great  weapon  of  government  was  the  retention 
of  the  pickers'  pay  until  the  season  was  over,  and  they 
themselves  actually  on  the  special  train  for  home. 
Then  when  the  train  started  the  pay  was  distributed. 
The  pickers  were  more  attracted  by  the  life  in  the 
country  and  the  gayeties  of  the  season  than  by  the 
money  earned.  Everything  was  furnished  them — 
transportation,  food,  housing,  and  amusements.  Those 
were  dark  days  for  the  housewives  of  Cooperstown  as 
all  the  "help"  insisted  on  the  privilege  of  going  "hop- 
picking." 

Then  the  change  came;  it  was  found  that  inferior 
hops  could  be  grown  on  the  Pacific  Coast  and  elsewhere. 
Our  Otsego  growers  were  undersold  and  gradually  the 
hop  industry  shrank;  the  growers  failed  and  the  yards 
were  plowed  up.  Farms,  which  in  the  writer's  youth 
changed  hands  readily  at  twenty-five  thousand  dollars, 
now  fail  of  a  buyer  at  five.  Notwithstanding  its  specu- 
lative character,  the  days  when  "Hops  were  King" 


1 12  Hegente  of  a  Jfrortfjern  Count? 

were  the  Golden  Age  of  Otsego  County  and  Coopers- 
town.  With  the  collapse  came  poverty  to  many — 
farms  were  abandoned  and  money  loaned  on  them  was 
lost. 

Cooperstown  had  its  land  boom  in  the  seventies,  when 
it  was  really  a  great  summer  resort;  prices  soared  and 
the  tale  ran  that  "Josh"  Storey  went  up  one  side  of  a 
street  and  Frederick  Phinney  up  the  other  buying  every- 
thing at  the  seller's  price. 

The  town  was  crowded  with  summer  guests,  and  the 
lake  with  boats.  All  the  desirable  spots  along  the 
river  bank  were  labeled:  "Lovers'  Retreat,"  "Calypso's 
Bower,"  "Shady  Nook,"  and  similar  signs  attracted 
the  idle  pleasure  seeker. 

One  case  of  typhoid  fever  following  a  stay  at  the 
principal  hotel  punctured  this  bubble.  More  money 
was  lost.  Then  began  the  gradual  development  of 
the  town  and  country  along  the  lines  which  have 
brought  them  the  prosperity  they  now  enjoy. 

The  various  histories  of  the  town  are  filled  with 
anecdotes  of  its  more  distinguished  visitors  and  resi- 
dents, and  to  them  the  reader  is  referred  with  the  hope 
that  these  sketches  may  have  excited  sufficient  interest 
to  induce  him  to  delve  farther  into  our  local  history 
and  traditions,  and  perhaps  even  search  for  himself 
among  the  musty  and  yellowed  documents  and  letters, 
now  laid  aside,  but  once  such  a  real  part  of  someone's  life. 


A  GREAT  HIGHWAY 

THE  earliest  highways  followed  the  important 
streams;  partly  because  of  the  easy  grade,  but  prin- 
cipally because  the  first  settlements  were  on  the  rivers. 
When  the  land  lying  away  from  the  streams  began  to 
be  settled,  the  new  towns  were  reached  by  short  roads 
running  back  to  them  from  the  nearest  river.  In  this 
way  the  settlements  on  Otsego  Lake  first  were  reached 
by  a  road  from  the  Mohawk  to  the  head  of  the  lake, 
near  Hyde  Hall,  and  then  by  boat  down  the  lake.  In 
1790  the  road  from  East  Springfield  to  Cooperstown 
was  built  down  the  east  side  of  the  lake  and  at  about 
the  same  time,  or  a  little  later,  the  road  to  Cherry 
Valley  was  made.  It  is  likely  that  there  were  very 
rough  wood  roads  in  use  on  the  line  of  many  of  the 
present  routes  before  real  roads  were  opened. 

When  traffic  justified  it,  about  1798,  the  Second 
Great  Western  Turnpike,  so  called,  was  built.  It  ran 
west  from  Albany,  paralleling  the  Mohawk  Highway, 
and  linking  together  by  one  great  road  the  various 
settlements  along  the  ridge  between  the  Mohawk  and 
the  Catskills;  among  them  Duanesburg,  Esperance, 
s  113 


1 14  Hegento  of  a  JBtortftern  Count? 

Sloansville,  Carlisle,  Sharon,  Sharon  Springs,  Cherry 
Valley,  the  Springfields,  Richfield,  and  so  on  to  Syracuse. 

The  route  is  a  beautiful  one ;  following  the  top  of  the 
ridge  until  it  sinks  into  the  sand  plains  west  of  Albany. 
The  views  are  wonderful  in  places ;  the  most  celebrated 
is  between  Cherry  Valley  and  Sharon  where  the  whole 
Mohawk  Valley  lies  spread  out  under  the  eyes  of  the 
traveler,  hemmed  in  by  the  distant  Adirondacks. 

It  is  hard  for  us  to  realize  that  the  building  and  open- 
ing of  a  great  highway,  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago, 
was  as  important  an  event  as  the  building  of  a  railroad 
or  great  canal  is  to-day,  perhaps  even  more  so,  as  roads 
were  few  then. 

As  first  planned,  it  was  to  run  "westward  from  the 
house  where  John  Weaver  now  lives  in  the  town  of 
Watervliet  to  the  house  where  John  Walton  now  lives 
in  the  town  of  Cherry  Valley" ;  the  toll  gates  were  to  be 
at  intervals  of  ten  miles  and  everything  that  moved 
was  to  pay  toll,  except  churchgoers  on  their  way  to  and 
from  public  worship  and  persons  going  to  or  from  any 
mill;  those  in  search  of  spiritual  or  physical  food  were 
not  taxed.  The  immediate  purpose  of  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  highway  was  to  raise  funds  for  the  rebuild- 
ing of  the  bridge  over  the  Schoharie-kill  at  Esperance 
which  had  been  carried  away  by  the  ice  in  the  Spring 
of  1798.  Later  the  road  came  east  to  Snipe  Street  in 
Albany  and  west  to  Syracuse. 


£1  <!5reat  ^igfttoap  115 

This  road  was  built  by  the  corporation  and  a  good  deal 
of  the  stock  went  to  pay  the  builders.  Judge  Cooper 
built  six  miles  and  was  paid  in  stock.  I  do  not  know 
its  value  then,  but  in  1802,  Jeremiah  Van  Rensselaer 
paid  $1250  cash  for  fifty  shares.  Its  par  value  was 
forty  dollars  in  1799,  and  was  later  increased  to  seventy 
and  then  to  ninety.  When  the  tolls  collected  amounted 
to  sufficient  to  repay  the  cost  of  the  road  the  corpora- 
tion was  to  be  dissolved  and  the  road  itself  revert  to 
the  people  of  the  State.  This  day  never  arrived,  but 
some  years  ago  the  road  was  abandoned  by  the  Com- 
pany and  thus  returned  to  the  State. 

When  the  road  was  finally  finished  and  opened  to 
travel,  the  enthusiasm  of  its  owners  was  great;  they  had 
visions  of  tremendous  earnings  and  began  to  make 
plans  for  spending  them;  the  bridges  were  all  to  be  of 
stone,  and  one  enthusiast  planned  lighting  the  highway. 
His  optimism  can  be  appreciated  when  we  remember 
that  light  in  those  days  was  supplied  by  whale  oil  lamps 
and  tallow  dips.  It  makes  one's  head  swim  to  calcu- 
late the  number  of  either  required  per  mile.  Just  east 
of  the  Fort  Plain  road  crossing  there  is  still  a  stone  arch 
over  a  stream;  the  only  stone  bridge  between  Albany 
and  Richfield  Springs. 

Wild  as  these  dreams  were,  traffic  seemed  to  justify 
them  for  a  time;  wagons  poured  into  Albany,  with  all 
the  products  of  the  western  land,  in  a  continuous  stream, 


1 1 6  ILtQtrib*  of  a  JHorfljern  Count? 

and  returned  loaded  with  the  requirements  of  the 
settlers  which  their  own  neighborhood  did  not  supply. 
Great  droves  of  cattle  and  sheep  followed  one  another 
into  the  city;  some  of  them  containing  over  five  hundred 
head. 

It  was  the  boast  of  the  stockholders  that  there  was  a 
tavern  for  every  mile  of  the  road.  This  boast  at  least 
was  true,  for  a  few  years  ago,  I  was  told  by  the  aged 
daughter  of  the  keeper  of  the  last  of  the  taverns  at 
Carlisle,  that  between  that  town  and  Albany,  a  distance 
of  thirty- six  miles,  there  had  been  thirty-seven  taverns. 

Her  account  of  the  travel  over  the  road  when  at  the 
height  of  its  glory,  as  told  to  her  by  her  father,  was  most 
interesting;  twenty  stages  with  six  horses  each  passed 
the  tavern  daily;  ten  each  way;  the  loaded  wagons 
traveled  in  fleets  often  as  many  as  twenty-five  or 
thirty  in  company.  In  the  little  town  of  Carlisle  there 
were  then  four  hotels,  of  which  but  one  remains.  When 
I  last  passed  it  there  was  plainly  visible  in  the  colored 
glass  window  over  the  main  door,  a  clean-cut  hole  about 
as  big  as  a  quarter ;  this  my  informant  called  my  atten- 
tion to  and  explained  as  follows : 

In  the  old  stage  coach  days,  one  morning,  an  old  and 
expert  driver  drew  up  in  front  of  the  door  with  his  six 
horses,  and  while  waiting  for  his  passengers,  he  had  a  whip 
with  a  long  lash  with  a  knot  on  the  end  of  it,  he  gave  it  a 
couple  of  twirls  above  his  head,  and  then  a  crack,  and  the 


a  (Srcat  ^igfjtoap  117 

knot  on  the  end  of  the  lash  cut  that  hole  in  the  glass,  as 
keen  as  a  bullet  and  never  cracked  the  glass  at  all. 

I  have  the  account  kept  by  Judge  Cooper  with  one  of 
the  wagons  and  teams  which  passed  wearily  back  and 
forth  over  this  crowded  highway.  The  wagons,  like 
the  stages,  had  names.  This  one  was  called  "Colum- 
bus" and  the  account  is  headed  "Collumbus  the  wagon 
in  account  with  Wm.  Cooper";  it  cost  $800.00  on  Oct. 
28,  1801;  it  was  driven  by  Michael,  whose  great  coat 
and  stockings  cost  $5.00 ;  then  follows  a  detailed  account 
of  its  loads,  earnings,  and  expenses.  On  November 
5th  it  brought  a  load  weighing  "37  hundred"  at  6/  a 
hundred,  $25.25;  on  November  14  it  brought  a  "cask 
of  wine,  Pipe  of  Brandy  &  Hogshead  of  rum  for  27.75." 
Sometimes  the  Columbus  carried  a  small  load  and  some- 
times "Returned  empty,"  but  generally  a  load  averaged 
about  twenty-five  dollars,  and  the  trip  seems  to  have 
taken  three  or  four  days  each  way.  On  Aug.  31,  1802, 
is  entered:  "Return  load  a  Tomb  Stone,"  and  as  no 
charge  is  made,  it  is  probable  that  this  was  the  stone 
which  still  marks  the  spot  by  the  road  side  where 
Hannah  Cooper  was  killed,  on  its  way  from  Phila- 
delphia to  Morris. 

Occasionally  another  wagon  described  as  the  "Old 
Smashpipe"  is  mentioned.  Perhaps  it  was  such  a 
rough  rider  that  the  driver's  pipe  was  smashed  between 
his  teeth. 


1 1 8  Eegenbg  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

The  heyday  of  the  turnpike's  prosperity  as  a  great 
broad  highway  ended  with  the  opening  of  the  canal 
and  the  building  of  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  railroad 
from  Albany  to  Schenectady ;  the  former  diverted  much 
freight  and  some  passenger  travel  and  the  latter  a  great 
many  of  the  passengers  of  the  coaches;  but  for  some 
years  travel  continued  by  stage  and  private  conveyance 
to  the  then  popular  resorts  of  Sharon  and  Richfield 
Springs;  however,  the  road  was  neglected;  the  popu- 
larity of  Sharon  faded ;  the  farms  and  taverns  along  the 
wayside  were  abandoned,  and  the  old  road  became  al- 
most impassable  between  Sharon  Springs  and  Albany. 
Little  is  left  to  indicate  its  past  glory  to  the  traveler 
who  takes  his  springs,  if  not  his  life,  in  his  hands  and 
drives  over  it  to-day.  The  busy  throngs  of  men, 
wagons,  and  beasts  have  disappeared,  and  with  them 
nearly  all  the  taverns;  at  Carlisle,  Sloansville,  and 
Esperance  still  are  interesting  old  inns  standing  and 
open,  and  at  Springfield  is  one  long  closed.  Here 
and  there  along  the  right  of  way  is  a  beautiful  house, 
occupied,  and  more  frequently  an  abandoned  one,  or 
the  cellar  which  marks  the  site  of  some  old  building. 

For  miles  the  broad  overgrown  right  of  way  runs 
through  deserted  lands,  lined  by  falling  walls,  and  un- 
marked by  even  a  telegraph  pole.  Everywhere,  how- 
ever, is  beauty,  and  from  the  time  that  the  road  rises 
from  the  sand  plains  of  Albany,  a  lover  of  nature,  and  of 


3  <@reat  Jfrtgljtoap  1 19 

history,  can  find  few  more  unusual  and  interesting 
trips ;  straight  as  an  arrow  it  runs  to  the  west ;  only  at 
Esperance  it  turns  sharply  to  the  right  to  cross  the 
Schoharie  Creek  on  a  wonderful  old  enclosed  bridge, 
which  must  have  many  years  over  a  century  to  its 
credit. 

Esperance  itself  is  beautiful:  its  Common;  its  old 
inn;  its  interesting  buildings,  stone  church,  and  great 
overhanging  elms  distinguish  it  from  the  run  of  villages. 
Sloansville  and  Carlisle  with  their  taverns  and  colonial 
houses  well  repay  a  visit,  as  do  many  of  the  small 
hamlets. 

At  Sharon  Springs  is  the  great  Pavilion  Hotel,  nearly 
a  century  old,  with  its  long  colonnade  overlooking  the 
Mohawk  Valley;  it  is  a  dignified  survivor  of  other  days 
and  other  manners.  For  many  years  it  was,  perhaps, 
the  best  known  resort  in  the  State  of  New  York  and 
one  of  the  most  celebrated  in  the  country.  Its  "gal- 
lery" was  crowded  with  politicians  and  prominent  men 
and  women ;  the  former  in  white  duck  trousers  and  black 
coats  and  the  latter  in  hoop  skirts.  At  evening  the 
rows  of  chairs,  four  in  number,  ran  from  end  to  end  of 
the  piazza,,  and  while  the  occupants  discussed  politics, 
news,  horses,  and  wine,  they  looked  out  over  a  wonderful 
expanse  of  hill  and  valley ;  the  parlors,  brilliantly  lighted 
by  kerosene  lamps  and  candles,  were  filled  with  dancers. 
During  the  day  they  drove,  rode,  flirted,  bathed,  and 


120  Hegenb*  of  a  JBtortfjern  Count? 

drank — mineral  and  fire  water.  It  is  hard  to  realize 
that  there  was  no  golf  or  tennis,  and  only  the  begin- 
nings even  of  croquet,  in  those  days  to  make  summer 
life  interesting  and  wholesome. 

Parts  of  the  old  road  have  been  rebuilt  recently,  and 
in  time  it  may  be  restored  its  entire  length.  If  it  can 
be  saved  from  the  vandalism  of  the  State  road  contrac- 
tor and  turned  into  a  stone  and  gravel  way  it  will  again 
become  popular  as  the  most  beautiful  route  west  from 
Albany,  and,  as  it  always  has  been,  the  shortest  to  many 
of  our  interior  towns.  When  the  time  comes  that  the 
motorist  thinks  of  something  more  than  speed  and  dis- 
tance the  remaining  old  taverns  may  once  more  be 
filled  with  guests  and  the  "Ford"  and  its  kindred  take 
the  place  of  the  "coaches  and  six,"  "Collumbus,  the 
wagon,"  "Old  Smashpipe, "  and  their  long  forgotten 
companions. 

Beyond  Sharon  is  Cherry  Valley  with  its  memo- 
ries of  Brant  and  Butler  and  the  victims  of  the  massacre ; 
then  come  all  the  Springfields:  East,  Middle  Village, 
Center,  and  Springfield  proper.  The  latter,  too,  was 
raided  and  burned  by  the  Indians,  and  has  all  the 
appearance  of  never  having  recovered  from  the  shock. 

Here  we  turn  south  for  our  own  village,  and  the 
Second  Great  Western  Turnpike  goes  on  its  way  west — 
out  of  our  story. 


A  LOST    ATMOSPHERE 

ELECTRIC  lights,  concrete  pavements,  and  new 
women  are  destructive  of  that  indescribable  some- 
thing called  atmosphere;  and  probably  also  it  is 
too  intangible  to  appeal  to  our  modern  ideas  and 
tastes. 

Whatever  the  cause  may  be,  it  has  gone  from  our 
village,  except  where  it  lingers  in  certain  neighbor- 
hoods: the  old  Presbyterian  and  Episcopal  churches 
with  their  graveyards ;  along  River  Street  and  about  the 
corners  of  the  town,  where  modern  improvements  and 
new  ideas  have  failed  to  dislodge  it.  In  my  youth  when 
the  streets  were  lined  with  great  overhanging  trees; 
paved  with  boards;  lighted  by  oil  lamps,  or  not  at 
all,  and  filled  with  a  friendly  and  leisurely  popula- 
tion, times  were  different  and,  in  some  ways,  more 
livable. 

We  still  have  our  churchyards,  with  the  narrow  way 
leading  from  Pioneer  Street  to  River  Street,  along  the 
Presbyterian  and  Episcopal  churches  and  through 
their  burying  grounds.  Even  they,  however,  have  felt 
the  touch  of  the  vandal,  for  years  ago  the  heavy  hand 

121 


122  Hesenb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

of  the  improver  was  laid  on  Christ  Churchyard  when, 
to  the  horror  of  many,  the  leaning  and  irregular  grave 
stones  were  set  up  in  straight  and  erect  lines  without 
reference  to  the  location  of  the  dead,  whose  virtues  they 
proclaim,  and  without  distinction  of  sex  or  degree.  It 
is  to  be  hoped  that  when  the  last  trump  sounds  the 
resurrected  will  not  have  to  rely  on  their  grave  stones 
for  identification. 

The  people,  against  the  background  of  beauty  and 
quiet,  were  the  real  creators  of  the  wonderful  old-time 
atmosphere  of  the  place ;  they  were  kindly,  individual, 
and  interesting.  Down  near  Frog  Hollow  lived  in  a 
little  house  two  maidens  of  doubtful  age,  always  known 

as  the  "P girls."    They  were  helped  in  their  daily 

tasks  by  a  devoted  maid,  who  was  more  like  a  member 
of  the  family  than  a  servant;  they  kept  their  pets; 
canaries  and  white  fan-tailed  pigeons,  and  cats;  but 
nothing  as  aggressive  as  dogs.  Deeply  religious  and 
interested  in  all  church  work  they  had  a  lurking 
love  of  the  occult  and  more  than  half  believed 
in  the  card  fortunes  which  they  told  for  the  youth 
of  the  town,  in  darkened  room  and  with  lowered 
voice.  The  pigeons  seemed  to  them  sacred  and  typi- 
cal of  purity.  When  one  of  the  canaries  escaped 
they  posted  the  following  notice  on  the  bulletin  board 
in  the  post  office  where  lost  and  found  articles  were 
recorded : 


S  ILost  3tttto£p!jerc  123 

LOST 

A  yellow  Canary — Flew 
towards  Roman  Catholic 
Church — Please  return  to 
(A  Great  Pet)  Miss  H.  P. 

92  Pioneer  St. 

The  event  of  the  year  for  them,  next  to  Christmas 
and  Easter,  was  a  ten-day  trip  to  visit  relatives  near 
a  large  city.  This  was  the  only  break  in  the  peaceful 
monotony  of  their  lives  and  was  the  treat  of  well-to-do 
relatives. 

Their  means  were  most  limited,  but  they  never  com- 
plained and  always  had  enough  to  help  the  poor  and  the 
less  fortunate  and  to  send  some  delicacy  to  the  ill  and 
suffering.  Life  for  them  seemed  hard  and  difficult,  to 
hold  little  of  pleasure  and  much  of  hardship,  but  they 
were  always  cheerful,  hopeful,  and  interested. 

On  Main  Street,  at  the  same  time,  were  three 
cabinet  makers,  all  old,  all  masters  of  their  trade  and 
devoted  to  one  another.  The  shop  was  old,  as  was 
much  of  the  contents.  Unfinished  work  accumulated; 
cobwebs  softened  every  corner  and  angle ;  shavings  and 
sawdust  covered  the  floor.  In  all  this  litter  of  disorder, 
they  worked  on  and  did  the  best  of  cabinet  making. 
They  were  of  quick  movement  and  silent  tongue,  but 
of  slow  accomplishment.  With  years  they  grew  to 
look  alike ;  their  backs  developed  the  same  stoop ;  their 


124          Hegenbg  of  a  JBtortfjern  Count? 

voices  the  same  tones  and  they  knew  one  another's 
thoughts  without  speaking.  Each  year  the  mountain 
of  unfinished  work  grew  before  them,  but  no  one  was 
discouraged  by  it,  except  the  owners.  In  appearance 
they  seemed  about  the  age  of  Methuselah,  with  the 
exception  of  the  youngest,  the  son  of  one  of  them,  who 
was  in  his  sixties,  and  who  always  was  spoken  of  affec- 
tionately as  "The  boy."  One  by  one  death  claimed 
them,  but  even  he  didn't  hurry  about  his  task,  and  when 
the  last  went  and  the  great  pile  of  unfinished  work  was 
looked  over  and  claimants  sought  for  it,  many  a  long- 
forgotten  piece  of  furniture  was  found  by  its  owner,  and 
many  an  owner  was  found  to  have  been  long  in  the 
graveyard. 

In  those  days  the  doctors  and  the  lawyers  were 
marked  men,  and  went  about  their  tasks  deliberately, 
in  long  black  coats  and  black  silk  stocks  wound  about 
long  necks,  for  they  were  all  tall  and  thin  except  one 
lawyer  who  violated  custom  by  being  very  tall  and  very 
fat.  They  never  hurried  and  never  forgot  the  dignity 
of  their  occupation.  In  fact  no  one  hurried.  In  the 
evening  when  the  mail  arrived,  every  one  sauntered  to 
the  post  office  to  await  its  distribution.  Old  and  young 
were  there;  the  news  was  discussed  and  plans  made  for 
the  next  day.  Joy  and  sorrow  came  generally  by  mail. 

The  only  event  which  could  arouse  the  town  was  a 
fire;  then  it  went  mad.  The  firemen  fought  one  an- 


3  ICotft  &tmo$pfjere  125 

other  rather  than  the  fire  and  the  townspeople  in  their 
misdirected  zeal  destroyed  what  the  fire  spared.  I 
have  often  admired  the  foresight  of  my  great  grand- 
mother who  once,  when  the  Hall  caught  fire,  ordered 
all  the  doors  and  windows  locked  and  bolted,  told  the 
servants  to  put  out  the  fire,  while  she  would  take  care 
of  the  fire  department;  this  she  did  by  pouring  boiling 
water  on  those  who  tried  to  enter  the  house. 

When  the  cry  of  fire  was  heard  every  one  dropped 
his  task  or  occupation  and  " hooked  on"  to  the  passing 
hand-drawn,  hand-pumped  engines  or  ran  regularly 
with  "The  Phinney  Hose"  or  "Deluge  No.  i"  or 
"Niagara  No.  2."  I  remember  one  joyous  occasion 
when  we,  being  young  and  sound  of  wind,  ran  away 
with  "Deluge  No.  i"  and  arrived  at  the  fire  with  the 
engine  and  no  firemen.  Pumping  did  not  appeal  to  the 
young,  as  running  did,  and  was  incomparably  less  in- 
teresting than  saving  furniture  from  fire  by  breaking  it. 
When  the  Central  Hotel  burned,  one  night  years  ago, 
the  vantage  post  at  the  top  of  a  ladder  was  seized  by  a 
"Deluge"  man,  which  of  course,  was  intolerable  to  the 
other  firemen  and  "Niagara"  and  "Phinney  Hose" 
were  turned  on  him  until  he  was  drowned  from  his 
position — while  the  hotel  burned.  Next  to  the  small 
boy  the  pugnacious  and  jealous  fireman  was  the  fire's 
best  friend. 

There  were  other  red-letter  days  than  those  marked 


126          JLtswto*  of  a  ^tortftetn  Count? 

by  fire;  real  holidays,  when  no  one  worked.  Among 
these  was  the  day  of  the  "Scottish  Games."  There 
were  three  enthusiastic  Scots  in  the  village  and  one  full 
highland  suit;  this  was  worn  by  a  very  dearly  beloved 
doctor  of  distinguished  Scotch  descent,  while  the  other 
two  wore  "pants"  made  of  Scotch  plaid,  and  wonder- 
ful to  look  upon.  I  recall  another  pair  of  holiday 
"pants"  made  for  a  boy  friend  out  of  two  American 
flags  with  the  Unions  forming  the  seat.  On  this  day 
all  the  youth  of  the  town  were  Scotch,  and  most  of 
their  elders  discovered  a  latent  Caledonian  strain. 
Always  a  piper  was  imported  and  generally  an  athlete 
or  two.  The  taber  was  tossed,  races  run,  and  all  kinds 
of  games  indulged  in  at  the  fair  grounds;  while  the  piper 
marched  back  and  forth,  blowing  the  pipes  for  dear 
life,  with  that  faraway  look  in  his  eye  which  a  piper 
always  has,  and  which  suggests  that  his  "Heart  is  in 
the  Highlands" — and  he  looking  for  it. 

The  Sunday  School  picnics  were  great  occasions  too, 
and  there  were  always  a  few  picnics  at  Three  Mile 
Point,  for  old  and  young,  when  the  latter  danced  to  the 
music  of  old  Joe  Tom. 

The  elderly  residents  had  their  literary  and  debating 
societies  where  papers  were  read  and  the  merits  of 
Shakespeare  and  others  discussed. 

The  town  had  its  mysteries  which  lost  nothing  by 
discussion.  For  one  whole  summer,  at  sunset,  a  cornet 


a  Host  atmotfpfjere  127 

was  heard,  played  beautifully  from  the  woods  on  the 
east  side  of  the  lake.  The  secret  of  the  musician's 
identity  was  so  well  kept  that  to  this  day  it  is  unknown. 
All  the  town  gathered  to  hear  the  notes,  sweetened  by 
distance  and  the  lake. 

Years  ago  an  English  gentleman  suddenly  appeared 
and  either  bought  or  rented  Brookwood  Point,  fur- 
nished it,  and  disappeared  for  a  time  to  return  with 
a  beautiful  woman.  He  called  her  his  wife.  They 
discouraged  all  intimacy  with  the  townspeople  and 
lived  much  alone,  until  one  day  they  were  gone.  The 
furniture  was  sold  at  auction  and  from  the  sale  came 
the  beautiful  flat  tea  pot  which  belonged  to  my  mother, 
which  is  still  in  the  family.  The  name  the  man  went 
by  was  Captain  Daniels  and  the  tea  pot  bears  a  much 
worn  crest.  Rumor  had  it  that  he  was  an  English  army 
officer  who  had  run  away  with  another  man's  wife. 
Whence  they  came  and  where  they  went  are  alike 
unknown. 

When  I  was  a  boy,  a  deformed  deaf  mute  appeared, 
with  a  heavy  chest,  which  he  put  in  one  of  the  bank 
vaults,  declaring  it  to  contain  gold.  When  the  lid  was 
lifted,  surely  enough,  it  seemed  full  of  gold  coin.  He 
carried  a  tablet  upon  which  all  conversation  was  writ- 
ten, and  pretended  to  be  looking  for  a  country  place. 
He  almost  bought  Brookwood  Point  from  Elihu 
Phinney,  whose  country  home  it  was,  for  seventy-five 


128          Hegenb*  of  a  J^ortfjern  Countp 

thousand  dollars.  Then,  suddenly,  he  vanished.  He 
turned  out  to  be  neither  deaf  nor  dumb,  but  a  fugitive 
from  justice,  and  when  his  chest  was  examined  by  the 
authorities,  a  layer  of  gold,  or  imitation  gold,  coins  was 
found  on  the  top  and  the  bottom  rilled  with  old  iron. 
We  never  knew  what  he  wanted  or  where  he  went.  It 
was  shrewdly  suspected  that  he  had  planned  robbing 
one  of  the  banks. 

The  air  of  the  town  has  suffered  sadly  from  the  some- 
what indiscriminate  pulling  down  of  old  colonial  build- 
ings, and  the  advent  of  the  scroll  saw  Victorian  product. 
Between  the  old  stone  bank  on  Main  Street  and  the 
Adam  house  of  the  Worthingtons  was  a  row  of  low  and 
interesting  dwellings,  worthy  of  preservation;  opposite 
the  grave  of  the  Indian  Chief  on  River  Street  was  a 
Colonial  house,  with  a  broad  flight  of  steps  to  the  front 
door,  surmounted  by  the  usual  portico ;  on  the  lot  near 
Otsego  Rock  was  a  Gothic  Cottage,  which  was  burned. 
The  old  Rectory,  too,  was  an  attractive  white  Colonial 
building  and  along  River  Street  were  several  others 
now,  like  their  inmates,  gone. 

The  auction  was  a  great  function  in  those  days; 
there  were  not  many  of  them,  but  when  they  came  they 
were  real  social  events;  the  town  went.  The  sales 
were  held  on  the  lawns  and  Cooperstown  society  sat 
about  and  bid  languidly  on  the  belongings  of  their  dead 
or  unfortunate  friends.  An  adjournment  was  had  for 


&  Hosrt  gtmospljcre  129 

dinner.  It  was  the  time  of  bargains,  and  I  remember  a 
perfect  and  beautiful  Colonial  looking-glass  with  a 
picture  across  the  top  being  knocked  down  for  twenty- 
five  cents.  There  were  heart  burnings  over  bargains 
lost  but,  on  the  whole,  the  auction  was  quite  as  success- 
ful a  social  event  as  a  party  or  a  picnic  and  from  the 
boy's  point  of  view  more  fun  than  either.  Many  a 
piece  of  furniture  now  in  the  older  houses  of  the  village 
has  a  record  of  numerous  auctions,  and  to  the  old  resi- 
dent its  history  would  be  well  known,  and  perhaps  its 
appearance  at  another  auction  eagerly  awaited. 

Sunday  was  strictly  observed;  no  one  sailed  or  rowed 
on  the  lake,  and  all  games  were  forbidden;  it  was  a 
sacred  but  terrible  day,  as  long  as  all  the  rest  of  the 
week,  and  to  make  it  worse  a  cold  lunch  took  the  place  of 
dinner.  Church  and  Sunday  School  over,  and  a  cold 
and  inadequate  lunch  eaten  at  one  o'clock,  the  entire 
town  spent  a  cheerful  afternoon  walking  to  the  ceme- 
tery and  back.  A  hurried  and  cold  supper  followed 
and  then  evening  service.  I  remember  how  heartily  I 
sympathized  with  the  little  boy  who  burst  into  tears 
when  told  that  if  he  was  very  good,  when  he  died  he 
would  go  to  heaven,  where  it  always  was  Sunday. 

The  very  hotels  were  different:  where  the  Fenimore 
is  now  was  the  St.  James,  a  dignified  white  frame  build- 
ing with  a  classical  portico  and  high  steps  leading  to  it. 
Nearly  opposite  was  the  Central  Hotel,  also  with  a 


130         Hegenb*  of  a  Jfrortfjent  Count? 

classical  portico  covering  the  entire  front  and  reaching 
from  the  ground  to  the  roof.  When  I  was  a  boy  of  less 
than  seven  I  always  got  up  in  the  morning  by  the  gong 
of  a  hotel  which  stood  where  the  library  does  now  and 
which  was  called,  I  think,  the  Red  Lion.  It  burned 
down  and  was  succeeded  by  an  immense  brick  hotel 
which  never  was  finished,  and  which  for  years  was 
called  the  Skeleton  Hotel.  Finally  it  was  pulled  down 
as  unsafe.  It  was  a  terrible  place  to  pass  after  dark — 
as  it  was  full  of  ghosts. 

There  were  no  steamboats  on  the  lake,  only  sail 
boats,  row  boats,  and  large  scows.  The  chug-chug  of 
the  restless  motor  boat  was  of  course  undreamed  of; 
all  was  serenity  and  beauty.  The  lake  front  was  not 
disfigured  by  the  present  row  of  boat  houses  and  work 
shops.  Great  rafts  of  pine  logs  were  floated  down  the 
lake  and  river  to  the  dam  where  they  supplied  the  saw- 
mill. The  gristmill  stood  about  where  the  water- 
works building  is  now;  the  sawmill  just  west  of  the 
east  bridge,  and  between  them  the  cider  mill  and  a 
small  one  for  planing.  This  was  the  manufacturing 
suburb  of  the  town  and  a  great  playground.  The  mills 
were  full  of  interest;  but  the  greatest  pleasure  was  run- 
ning on  the  logs  which  filled  the  mill  pond  from  bank 
to  bank  and  ran  far  up  the  river.  It  had  just  that  spice 
of  danger  which  appeals  to  boys;  one  had  to  keep  mov- 
ing or  the  logs  rolled  over  and  a  ducking  followed ;  many 


Si  Host  gltmotfpfjere  131 

is  the  time  I  have  slipped  through  into  the  river  and 
dried  out  in  the  sun. 

Perhaps  the  "Cooper  girls"  for  years  contributed 
as  much  to  the  atmosphere  of  the  place  as  any  single 
household;  they  were  the  "Cooper  girls"  in  the  early 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  the  "Cooper  girls" 
they  were  affectionately  called  until  the  end,  which 
came  for  them  well  on  toward  the  latter  part  of  that 
century.  As  children  some  of  them  left  here  about 
1817;  as  young  women  they  returned  about  1833, 
to  fill  out  their  allotted  years.  They  were  my  four 
aunts;  two  of  them  married  and  one  lived  for  a  time  in 
another  village  but  returned  here  as  a  widow  to  join 
her  two  maiden  sisters  and  her  third,  already  a  widow. 
During  the  most  formative  period  of  their  lives  they 
lived  in  New  York  and  Europe;  they  saw  the  most  dis- 
tinguished social  life  of  many  of  the  great  European 
cities  and  were  educated  there  with  all  the  care  and 
thoroughness  of  that  day,  and  in  all  its  small  accom- 
plishments; and  then  returned  to  the  somewhat  pro- 
vincial life  of  this  little  village  in  central  New  York. 
The  contrast,  great  now,  was  greater  then,  but  they 
found  no  fault  with  their  lot,  and  if  they  had  longings 
for  greater  things  and  heart  burnings  for  the  glories 
which  they  had  known,  they  never  spoke  of  them.  One 
of  them,  Susan,  wrote  a  number  of  books;  another, 
Charlotte,  consoled  herself  with  her  music  and  her 


132          Hegenb*  of  a  J^ortljent  Count? 

garden,  and  the  other  two  had  their  children  to  educate 
and  care  for.  They  were  far  from  rich,  hardly  well-to- 
do,  and  after  the  Hall  was  sold,  they  lived  in  a  little 
Gothic  cottage,  built  for  them  on  the  banks  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna  out  of  brick  from  their  old  home  which  had 
burned.  Good  works  took  much  of  their  time  and  the 
eldest,  Susan,  who  founded  the  hospital  and  named  it 
"Thanksgiving,"  in  gratitude  for  the  end  of  the  Civil 
War,  was  looked  upon  almost  as  a  saint ;  she  started  the 
Orphanage  and  numerous  other  charitable  institutions. 

They  never  gossiped,  they  never  spoke  unkindly  of, 
or  crossly  to,  anyone;  they  looked  for  and  found  the 
humorous  and  beautiful  in  life, 'and  in  their  surround- 
ings; no  doubt  they  lived  much  in  the  memory  of  the 
past  and  in  the  interests  acquired  by  travel  in  those 
early  years.  Aunt  Charlotte  loved  flowers  and  had  a 
garden  which  she  tended  with  devoted  care;  as  she  grew 
older  and  feebler  the  garden  shrank  until  when  the  end 
came  there  were  but  two  sparsely  covered  beds  close 
to  the  house.  Her  death  was  tragic;  when  her  beloved 
sister,  Susan,  had  a  stroke  of  paralysis  and  was  lying 
unconscious,  the  shock  to  her  was  terrible,  and  she 
crept  quietly  off  to  her  room,  lay  down  on  her  bed,  and 
died  unattended. 

They  entertained  in  a  small  but  most  delightful  way, 
always  having  the  best  of  food.  I  spent  many  summers 
under  their  roof,  and  must  have  been  a  trying  guest — a 


3  ICotft  &tmo*pfjere  133 

small  boy  in  such  a  household ;  but  I  never  was  spoken 
to  unkindly,  although  I  remember  deserving  it  many 
a  time.  Meals  were  served  with  great  formality  and 
always  began  with ''Grace  "and  ended  with  "Thanks 
returned . ' '  This  seemed  superfluous  to  my  young  eager- 
ness to  be  off  and  at  play;  as  did  the  formal  sitting 
about  the  table  for  some  time  after  dessert  had  been 
eaten.  This  monotony  often  was  relieved,  however,  by 
an  amusing  incident;  they  were  all  deaf,  some  of  them 
very  much  so,  and  it  occasionally  happened  that  one 
would  return  thanks,  not  to  be  heard  by  the  others, 
and  after  a  little  another  would  perform  the  same  cere- 
mony, much  to  my  irreverent  joy.  Theirs  was  not  the 
only  household  of  its  kind  in  the  village  in  those  days; 
it  was  typical  merely  and  perhaps  the  most  pronounced 
in  its  peculiarities,  its  history,  and  its  habits. 

There  was  another  delightful  household  of  which  a 
one-time  village  wit  said,  not  unkindly,  that  they  had 
"mice  blood"  in  them;  they  were  afraid  of  cats  and 
loved  to  sit  close  up  in  corners. 

The  world  is  small  and  strange  things  happen.  My 
first  lawsuit,  just  before  I  was  admitted  to  the  Bar,  was 
over  some  bank  books  which  had  been  stolen  from  one 
of  two  very  old  women,  living  down  town  in  Albany. 
I  won  the  case  and  one  of  my  old  clients  told  me  that 
when  she  was  a  little  girl  she  lived  in  Coopers  town, 
where  one  day  in  playing  she  fell  into  the  mill 


i34          Hejjenb*  of  a  Jfrortfjern  County 

pond;  she  was  alone  and  would  have  been  drowned  if 
it  had  not  been  for  a  man  passing  on  horseback  who 
dismounted  and  rescued  her;  that  man,  she  said,  was 
Judge  Cooper.  It  all  must  have  happened  before  1809, 
the  year  Judge  Cooper  died.  The  reward  for  his  act 
was  long  deferred  as  I,  his  great-grandson,  got  eighty 
dollars  for  trying  the  case  in  the  year  1880.  It  always 
suggested  to  my  mind  casting  one's  bread  upon  the 
waters  and  having  it  return  after  many  days.  Four 
generations  is  some  time  to  wait  for  the  return. 

But  to  go  back  to  the  people ;  there  was  one  little  old 
lady  who  deserved  a  Thackeray  to  immortalize  her. 
In  her  youth  she  had  been  a  great  beauty,  and  in  fact 
never  lost  her  looks.  She  lived  near  Cooperstown 
when  first  married,  and  although  for  years  a  wanderer 
over  the  earth,  she  finally  returned  each  summer  to  her 
old  home.  She  had  all  the  charm  of  the  woman  of  the 
world  that  she  was;  a  charm  which  never  grew  old;  a 
manner  which  always  was  gracious ;  a  wit  and  conversa- 
tional ability  which  were  vouchsafed  to  few  favored 
mortals.  She  never  lost  her  interest  in  life  and  people, 
or  her  love  of  gay  clothes  and  bright  colors ;  in  appear- 
ance she  was  a  typical  fairy  godmother  of  the  early 
Victorian  age;  she  was  always  a  welcome  guest,  and 
was  as  much  sought  by  the  young  as  by  the  middle 
aged  and  by  her  few  contemporaries. 

When  she  came  to  town,  attired  in  the  style  and 


a  lost  Stmotfpfjcre  135 

colors  which  prevailed  in  her  early  twenties,  it  was  in  a 
Victoria,  of  about  her  own  age,  drawn  by  horses  which 
must  have  been  colts  when  she  was  young,  and  driven 
by  a  coachman  who  personified  all  that  was  fat,  red- 
faced,  and  dignified  of  his  occupation ;  his  livery  was  of 
the  kind  which  "fitted  too  soon"  and  was  drawn  in 
deep  creases  about  him.  He  never  failed  to  properly 
celebrate  a  visit  to  the  village;  so  when  the  home 
journey  began,  he  drove  his  mistress  into  the  shadows 
of  the  lake  road  with  an  unsteady  hand  and  a  most 
beatific  smile. 


SOME   OLD   LETTERS 

I  HAVE  selected  from  a  great  mass  of  letters  the  fol- 
lowing, as  throwing  some  light  on  life  at  Cooperstown 
in  the  early  days  of  the  settlement;  there  was  a  con- 
stantly changing  and  most  interesting  social  life,  quite 
remarkable  when  we  remember  the  remoteness  of  the 
village  and  its  inaccessibility.  The  family  life  at 
Judge  Cooper's  home  seems  to  have  been  most  de- 
lightful, and  the  strangers  within  the  village  gates 
evidently  grew  to  love  the  place  and  the  people  residing 
there. 

William  Cooper  to  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer: 

Cooperstown    May  the  2,  1792. 
MY  MUCH  ESTMD  AND 

HIGHLY  PRISD  FRIEND 

After  giving  detailed  reports  of  an  election  this  letter 
goes  on. 

I  am  preparing  to  Illuminate  as  well  the  town  as  the  lake 
on  which  we  shall  raise  Bonfires  on  Platforms,  cannonading, 
musick,  Horns  &  Conche  Shells;  turn  out  all  the  wine  in  my 
cellar  &c.  on  Jays  Election.  Huza  for  our  side  at  last — but 
if  Clinton  succeeds,  I  must  hang  up  my  fiddle.  You  alarm 
me  about  McComb,  Morris  &  Bingham.  I  hope  Constable 

136 


feome  ©to  Eettera  137 

is  not  in  the  scrape,  nor  Carlisle  Pollock.  I,  like  the  rest  of 
the  Human  Race,  hope  that  they  will  hold  out  until  I  shall 
not  be  so  deeply  interested  for  their  welfare.  Adieu,  my 
dear  friend,  Adieu,  with  all  Possible  Cordiality  and  Friend- 
ship, once  more  Adieu. 

WILLIAM  COOPER. 
Honorable  S.  V.  Rensselaer,  Esq., 
Albany. 

Judge  Cooper  seems  to  have  been  very  fond  of  S.  V. 
Rensselaer;  in  closing  a  letter  dated  October  7,  1792, 
he  says, 

Remember  that  I  profess  to  be  a  man  of  business  and 
expect  to  have  my  letters  answered.  I  know  that  you  are 
taking  up  with  objects  more  interesting  than  that  of  writing 
to  me,  but  my  good  Friend,  there  is  nothing  that  makes  one 
man  feel  so  bold  in  calling  the  attention  of  another  as  that 
of  knowing  that  he  has  an  honest  and  sincere  friendship  for 
him,  in  which  business  you  will  do  me  the  justice  to  believe 
that  there  is  none  that  holds  your  welfare  in  higher  estima- 
tion than  myself,  this  is  the  first  declaration  that  I  have 
made  on  that  subject,  and  shall  in  future  desist  from  Pro- 
testations, supposing  you  always  take  it  for  granted — 
friendship  being  a  chain  that  never  wants  rubing  in  direct 
terms  to  keep  it  bright. 

Adieu, 

WILLIAM  COOPER. 

Jacob  Le  Ray 

New  York,  Dec.  7,  1793. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

You  will  find  enclosed  two  Bank  notes  of  ten  Dollars 
each,  which  you  will  be  good  enough  to  keep  until  called  for 


138          3Legente  of  a  ^tottfjent  Count? 

by  a  stranger.  They  are  not  a  gift  of  my  own,  but  were 
handed  me  for  this  purpose,  and  intended  to  relieve  the 
wants  of  an  elderly  French  Gentleman  of  consequence,  whose 
name  I  dare  not  reveal  at  present  and  who  perhaps  will  call 
on  you  to  receive  them  in  which  case  you  will  shew  him 
every  civility  in  your  power. 

Sincerely  yours 

JACOB  LE  RAY. 
Endorsed 

1 3th  Dec.  delivered  to  Mr.  P.  the  20  dollars  on  his 
producing  a  letter  from  the  Gentleman  who  sent  them. 
Mr.  P.  promised  to  forward  them  to  the  unknown  person 
intended. 

I  have  no  idea  who  the  mysterious  Frenchman  could 
have  been;  undoubtedly  a  refugee  and  one  in  very 
straightened  circumstances  if  twenty  dollars  could  be 
of  such  importance.  The  country  was  full  of  exiled 
Frenchmen  at  the  time,  among  them  Talleyrand  who 
visited  Judge  Cooper  and  wrote  his  daughter  Hannah 
the  following  acrostic : 

Aimable  philosophe  an  printemps  de  son  age, 
Ni  les  temps,  ni  les  lieus  n'alterent  son  esprit ; 

Ne  cedent  qu'  a  ses  gouts  simples  et  same  6talage, 
Au  milieu  des  deserts,  elle  lit,  pense,  e*crit. 

Cultivez,  bella  Anna,  votre  gout  pour  l'e*tude; 

On  ne  saurait  ici  mieux  employer  son  temps; 
Otsego  n'est  pas  gai-mais,  tout  est  habitude; 

Paris  vous  de*plairait  fort  au  premier  moment; 
Et  qui  jouit  de  soi  dans  une  solitude, 

Rentrant  au  monde,  est  sur  d'en  faire  1'ornement. 


g>ome  ©Ib  Hettertf  139 

Arthur  Noble,  who  wrote  the  next  letter,  was  an 
English  gentleman  and  was  largely  interested  in  frontier 
lands.  He  owned  two  patents  north  of  us,  known  as 
Arthurboro  and  Nobleboro,  each  of  thirty  thousand 
acres.  Fort  Noble  was  his  town.  It  never  prospered 
and  its  site  now  is  marked  only  by  a  building  or  two. 

Great  expectations  were  built  on  "sugar  and  rum 
from  the  maple  tree"  in  those  days.  They  too,  were 
unfulfilled,  but  every  effort  was  made  to  develop  this 
business.  Among  the  old  papers  of  Judge  Cooper's  is 
an  agreement  signed  by  a  long  list  of  public-spirited 
citizens  by  which  each  agrees  to  purchase  and  consume  a 
stated  amount  of  maple  sugar  annually  for  a  term  of 
years;  nothing  is  said  of  the  "rum."  Perhaps  an 
agreement  was  not  necessary  as  to  this. 

Conajohary,  May  7th,  1791. 

DEAR  COOPER, 

I  left  the  sugar  and  Spirits  in  Charge  with  our  Friend  Dr 
Rush  to  be  delivered  to  the  President  on  his  return  from 
the  Southward,  which  they  expect  will  be  in  the  Middle  of 
June.  Dr  Rush  thinks  the  properest  way  to  address  him 
will  be  thus — Mr  Cooper  and  Mr  Noble  present  their  re- 
spects to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  request 
his  Acceptance  of  Samples  of  Sugar  and  Spirits  produced 
from  the  Maple  tree  with  their  Observation  etc. — I  am 
sure  he  will  word  it  so  as  to  give  you  Satisfaction,  I  am  on 
my  road  to  Fort  Noble,  where  I  shall  expect  to  see  your 
Honor  about  the  2oth.  Inst. — ,  and  request  you  will  bring 
Hargrove  with  you.  I  spent  two  days  very  agreably  in 


140         ICegenb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

Albany,  one  with  the  Patroon  the  other  with  Gansy  we  did 
not  forget  you.  Danby  swears  like  a  trooper  if  you  forget 
to  send  her  the  Maple  Sugar  she  will  torment  you  all  the 
days  of  your  life  Dr  Rush  sent  his  Son  to  Penningtons  for 
the  four  Loaves  of  White  Maple  Sugar,  but  he  had  Dis- 
posed of  every  Ounce  of  it.  I  have  been  bragging  what  a 
Quantity  you  would  bring  to  Market  this  year.  I  hope 
you  will  not  be  disappointed  by  your  Yankees,  the  Chan- 
cellor has  quite  failed  in  his  Experiments  he  says  he  will 
lose  100  Pounds  by  it,  his  People  told  him  it  was  a  very 
bad  year  and  the  trees  would  not  run.  Rush  brought  me  to 
Mr  Jefferson  the  Secretary  of  State,  he  is  as  Sanguine  as 
you  or  I  about  the  Maple  Sugar,  he  thinks  in  a  few  years 
we  shall  be  able  to  Supply  half  the  World,  he  read  me  a 
Paragraph  out  of  a  letter  from  France,  to  tell  him  there  is  a 
house  in  Amsterdam  going  to  Send  to  this  Country  to  set 
up  works  for  the  Manufacturing  of  Maple  Sugar. 

With  best  wishes  for  your  Family  and  Mr  Smith  Believe 
Me  Dear  Cooper 

Your  truly  Sincere  Friend 

ARTHUR  NOBLE. 


The  following  letter  is  interesting  as  showing  the 
method  of  sale  and  settlement  of  land  adopted  by 
Judge  Cooper.  He  followed  it  consistently  and  it  may 
have  been  the  reason  of  his  success  as  a  maker  of 
settlements,  in  part  at  least. 

The  other  method,  adopted  by  many  land  owners  at 
the  time,  was  to  lease  the  land  in  fee,  requiring  the 
tenant  to  pay  perpetually  an  annual  rental.  It  was 


feome  ©ft  better*  141 

this  latter  form  of  conveyance  which  led  to  the  anti- 
rent  agitation  and  the  so-called  war. 


Cooperstown,  7  Mo  3rd  1790. 
Esteemed  Friend 
Charles  J.  Evans. 

Thy  letter  of  the  I3th  of  April  (informing  of  one  wrote 
some  months  ago  and  forwarded  to  my  House  in  Jersey) 
came  to  hand  this  day ;  it  had  reached  my  House  some  time 
ago  but  my  being  from  home  caused  it  to  be  sent  with  others 
after  me,  and  missing  me  has  only  just  come  to  hand  now. 
My  Mode  of  selling  Lands  both  those  that  belong  to  myself 
and  those  that  belong  to  my  Friends,  is  to  allow  the  Pur- 
chaser a  credit  of  Ten  Years  for  the  Purchase  Money  giving 
him  a  Warrantee  Deed  and  taking  a  Mortgage  with  Bond 
and  Warrant  carrying  legal  Interest.  This  I  have  found  by 
experience  to  be  the  only  way  to  raise  our  back  Lands  from 
a  nominal  to  a  lively  Estate — as  the  Purchaser  when  he 
holds  the  Soil  in  fee  sees  a  probability  of  making  it  his  own, 
he  therefore  builds  better  Houses  Barns  and  other  Buildings 
clears  his  Lands  in  a  better  and  more  effectual  manner  at- 
tends to  planting  Orchards,  and  in  fact  looks  up  as  a  Man 
on  record  with  more  ambition  than  he  that  is  settled  on  any 
other  plan  ever  yet  practised. 

I  did  not  think  of  taking  any  more  under  my  care  yet 
awhile  having  just  got  through  with  three  hundred  thou- 
sand Acres,  but  if  those  Lands  are  good  I  will  strive  to  sell 
them  for  thee  for  the  following  Comission.  For  all  the 
Bonds  and  Mortgages  I  hand  thee  regularly  acknowledged 
and  recorded  I  must  be  allowed  Five  per  Cent  on  the  Sum 
so  delivered  one  fourth  in  advance  one  Fourth  when  the 
Business  is  compleated  or  such  part  of  it  as  I  from  time  to 
time  may  get  through  with,  the  remainder  I  will  collect 


142          Hegente  of  a  JBtortfjern  Count? 

from  the  Tenants  or  Purchasers  whom  I  sell  to — if  those 
Terms  should  meet  thy  approbation  inform  me  by  a  Line 
directed  to  the  care  of  Glen  &  Bleecker's  Merchants  Albany. 
There  must  be  also  a  power  of  Attorney  proved  before  one 
of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  or  one  of  the  Masters 
in  Chancery  in  order  that  it  may  be  recorded  in  the  County 
where  the  Lands  lie,  an  exact  survey  of  the  Lands  must 
likewise  be  sent.  Thee  must  also  prepare  Blank  Deeds 
Bonds  and  Martgages  for  my  purposes  which  is  all  the 
expence  thee  will  be  at  in  this  business  save  that  of  the 
commission  aforementioned. 

With  due  Respect  I  am 
thy  real  Friend 

WILLIAM  COOPER. 
(Endorsed:) 

Charles  J.  Evans, 

To  the  care  of  New  York. 

Ludlow  &  Goold, 

Wall  Street, 

for  the  Post. 

Ph.  Schuyler  to  Wm.  Cooper 

Albany  May  7th  1792 
DEAR  SIR: — 

Your  favor  of  the  24th  ult.  I  had  the  pleasure  to  receive 
last  evening.  Its  communications  are  infinitely  agreeable 
and  the  result  of  the  poles  as  you  state,  such  as  will  give  us 
the  victory,  unless  our  friends  in  other  quarters  err  egre- 
giously  in  their  calculations, — 

Whether  we  succeed  or  not,  we  shall  be  much  indebted  to 
your  exertions.  Stephen  too  has  done  his  best,  and  I  have 
not  been  Idle  and  we  are  advised  that  Mr.  Jacob  Morris 
has  evinced  himself  a  true  friend  to  the  good  cause —  The 


feome  ©to  Uetter*  143 

patroon  has  been  rebuked  for  not  writing  you  but  he  pleads 
not  guilty, — and  puts  himself  on  his  tryal, — 

I  was  in  hopes  to  have  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  you, 
but  Mrs  Rensselaer's  indisposition  obliges  me  to  attend  her 
to  New  York.  If  I  am  home  when  the  canvassing  closes, 
and  If  It  turns  out  as  we  wish  I  will  express  a  messenger 
express  to  you, —  If  otherwise  bad  news  flies  fast  enough — 

I  believe  fasting  and  prayer  to  be  good  but  If  you  had  only 
fasted  and  prayed  I  am  certain  we  should  not  have  had 
seven  hundred  votes  from  your  country — reports  say, 
that  you  was  civil  to  the  young  and  handsome  of  the  sex,  that 
you  flattered  the  old  &  ugly. — and  even  embraced  the  tooth- 
less and  decrepit,  in  order  to  obtain  votes — when  will  you 
write  a  treatise  on  Electioneering?  whenever  you  do  afford 
only  a  few  copies  to  your  friends — 

Adieu,  I  am  very  sincerely 
Dear  Saint  William, 
Yours  &c 

PH.   SCHUYLER. 

Mr.  Judge  Cooper 

(Addressed) 

To — William  Cooper  Esq., 

First  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Commonplease 
in  the  County  of  Otsego 
at  Cooper st own. 


W.  Cooper  to  B.  Gilbert 

Cooperstown,  8  of  March  1794. 

Hudson  hath  returned  from  Albany — reports  that  no 
alteration  in  the  officers  of  the  Pleas  or  Peace  will  take 
place — that  he  hath  assurances  that  no  agreement  was  made 


144          Hegenbtf  of  a  Jlortfjern  County 

in  the  council  to  adopt  our  List.  General  Schuyler  and 
0  Hoffman,  both  informed  me  that  they  had  agreed  and 
that  it  was  a  settled  thing  and  as  from  them  I  reported  it 
here,  if  it  is  not  the  case  I  am  in  a  very  awkward  situation, 
however  to  put  myself  out  of  the  way  of  mortification — I 
have  come  to  the  determination — never  to  sit  with  Hudson, 
Harper,  Culley  or  Cannon  again — for  to  be  obliged  to  sign 
bills  of  Exception  at  every  Court  on  account  of  their  igno- 
rance or  wickedness  I  will  not — not  to  mention  their  total 
want  of  respectability — besides  I  treat  no  man  that  I  pro- 
fess friendship  for  with  indiference — nor  can  I  bear  the 
neglect  of  an  alteration  so  loudly  called  for  from  a  people 
who  have  a  right  to  demand  it — therefore  if  you  find  the 
appointments  not  like  to  take  place,  hand  in  the  inclosed 
to  the  Council  of  Appointment,  if  you  find  that  they  cer- 
tainly will,  then  keep  it  and  hand  it  me  again — but  if  other- 
wise do  not  neglect  it.  As  to  the  lock  if  there  is  any  oppo- 
sition let  it  be,  for  I  am  confident  the  public  must  and  will 
do  it — shortly — however — make  a  motion  for  £50  to  build 
a  bridge  across  the  Susquehannah  at  the  end  of  the  State 

road. 

Yours  sincerely 

WILLIAM  COOPER. 
Benjamin  Gilbert. 

(Enclosure.) 
GENTLEMEN 

The  Almost  constant  intoxication,  extreme  ignorance 
and  total  want  of  respectability  of  a  Majority  of  the  Judges 
and  Assistant  Justices  with  whom  I  have  to  associate  in  the 
Courts  of  Justice  for  the  County  of  Otsego  renders  it  abso- 
lutely necessary  that  I  should  resign  the  office  of  first 
Judge  of  the  County  aforesaid,  as  well  to  bare  a  Testimony 
against  such  undignified  carrectors  as  also  to  avoid  the 


©Ib  netted  145 


mortification  of  being  obliged  to  sign  bills  of  exception  with 
them  at  every  Court.  I  cannot  readily  think  of  any  Person 
fit  for  the  office  that  I  can  recommend  to  so  painful  a  sittua- 
tion,  therefore  not  doubting  but  your  honorable  Board  will 
make  the  best  provision  for  the  respectability  of  the  county 
in  your  Power,  I  do  hereby  resign  and  deliver  up  to  you  the 
honor  and  trust  reposed  in  me  by  Virtue  of  a  commission 
under  the  Great  Seal  of  the  State  bearing  date  iyth  of 
February,  1791  nominating  and  commissioning  me  to  act 
as  first  Judge  of  the  County  afforesaid. 

With  due  respect  I  remain 

WILLIAM  COOPER 

The  Honorable  Council  of  Appointment 
of  the  State  of  New  York 

As  two  copies  of  the  resignation  are  with  the  letter, 
the  new  appointments  must  have  been  made.  The 
picture  of  frontier  justice  is  not  a  pleasant  one. 

It  is  evident  from  the  following  letter  that  in  "Hud- 
son" Judge  Cooper  found  a  foeman  worthy  of  his  steel. 

New  York  21  Jany.  1793. 

Two  petitions  signed  by  Ephraim  Hudson  and  about  70 
other  persons  seting  forth  that  you  as  first  Judge  of  Otsego 
had  been  guilty  of  mal  &  corrupt  conduct  and  sundry  mis- 
demeaners  in  the  execution  of  your  office,  was  this  day  read 
in  the  house,  after  which  I  immediately  rose  and  declared 
that  I  viewed  it  as  a  false  scandalous  &  malicious  libel  and 
moved  that  they  might  be  ordered  to  lay  on  the  table,  how- 
ever numbers  prevailed  and  they  were  committed  to  a  com- 
mittee of  the  whole  to  be  taken  up  next  Wednesday  with  a 
Resolution  moved  also  to  day  by  a  Mr.  Curtis  to  an  enquiry 
into  your  conduct. 


146          Hegenbtf  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

It  being  the  latter  end  of  the  sessions  I  think  there  is  little 
danger  that  the  business  will  be  fully  gone  into  at  the  present 
however,  if  it  remains  over  its  an  unpleasant  thing — some 
of  those  fellows  would  go  to  the  devil  to  ruin  you,  however 
walk  straight  and  be  firm  and  you  have  nothing  to  fear 

I  expect  you  &  Talbot  will  have  a  pretty  tight  race  for 
Congress 

As  the  Post  does  not  go  'till  Thursday  morning  shall  not  close 
this  unless  a  direct  private  conveyance  offers  'till  Wednesday 
evening  &  will  inform  you  what  the  house  may  do  that  day 

Wednesday  2$d  January  1793 

Question  was  this  day  taken  upon  a  postponment  of  Mr. 
Curtiss  resolution  'till  the  next  session  and  lost,  then  the 
house  agreed  to  the  resolution,  and  the  sergeant  at  Arms  is 
to  be  sent  to  Otsego  for  witnesses  by  whom  I  shall  send  you 
a  copy  of  the  petition,  the  signers  names  &c  and  copy  of  the 
resolution  agreed  to 

Yours  truly  &c 

JACOB  MORRIS. 
P.S. 

My  business  will  absolutely  require  me  to  be  home  before 
this  business  comes  on. 
Judge  Cooper. 

(Addressed) 

Honorable  William  Cooper  Esquire 
Cooperstown 

Rufus  King  to  Judge  Cooper 

Philadelphia  10  March  1794 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  ought  sooner  to  have  replied  to  your  Letters  respecting 
the  land  sold  to  you  when  you  was  last  in  New  York — I 
view  the  subject  in  the  same  light  that  you  do,  and  consider 


g>ome  ©Ib  Hetter*  147 

the  Bargain  to  have  been  then  concluded —  Mr.  Kent  has 
drawn  the  Deeds  &c.  which  are  ready  for  execution —  Had 
I  seen  Mr.  Smith  I  should  have  proposed  to  him  to  have 
taken  the  mortgage  in  order  to  have  had  it  executed, 
recorded  and  returned — 

I  was  very  much  gratified  with  the  proceedings  of  the 
Assembly  on  your  subject;  justice  has  been  rendered  to  you, 
and  mortification  inflicted  upon  your  adversaries. — We  have 
before  us  again  the  subject  of  post  Roads,  and  have  inserted 
in  the  Bill  a  road  to  Cooperstown  in  Otsego,  branching  from 
the  Mohawk,  and  passing  through  Cherry  Valley — 

As  post  roads  are  bestowed  very  freely  at  the  request  of 
our  southern  friends;  if  you  have  in  view  any  extension  of 
the  Post,  in  your  Quarter,  which  by  facilitating  the  com- 
munication of  information,  would  accommodate  any  con- 
siderable number  of  People,  I  desire  you  to  give  me  early, 
and  particular,  information,  that  I  may  be  able  to  propose 
the  addition  when  the  Bill  shall  come  before  the  Senate — 
We  have  nothing  of  a  public  nature,  which  the  News  Papers 
do  not  communicate — one  great  effort  is  to  preserve  the  peace 
of  the  Country,  tho  some  late  proceedings  of  the  British  in 
the  West  Indies,  if  they  shall  be  authorized,  will  prove 
extremely  embarassing — 

Our  last  accounts  assure  us  that  the  Indians  are  desirous  of 
Peace,  and  there  is  some  hope  that  this  event  will  take  place. 

Yours  very  truly, 

RUFUS  KING. 
Judge  Cooper 

J.  Morris  to  Judge  Cooper 
DEAR  JUDGE 

The  town  of  Unadilla  still  retains  its  federal  name  in 
spite  of  the  most  violent  efforts  of  the  antis 

After  our  political  opponents  had  held  several  meetings 


148          Hegettte  of  a  J^torttjern  Count? 

had  written  enumerable  circular  letters,  had  dispatched 
many  expresses,  and  had  rode  day  and  night  to  the  no  small 
inquiry  of  the  nighing  quadrupeds,  we  yesterday  came  to 
the  pole  for  supervisor  of  this  town  when  the  number  stood 
for  Butler  Gilbert  Esq.  73 

and  for  David  Bates  Esquire  68 

Majority  in  favor  of  the  federalists-  5 

Never  was  there  a  greater  discomfiture  of  the  clintonian 
force  in  this  town,  such  was  their  sanguine  hopes  and  pros- 
pects of  success  that  bets  were  freely  offered  of  large  odds 
before  the  election  in  favor  of  Bates,  every  man  in  the  town 
on  that  side  who  was  able  to  travel  was  brought  up  both 
white  and  black — they  had  indeed  laid  their  plan  so  well  as 
to  keep  at  home  many  of  our  friends  on  the  Otego  Patent 
and  to  draw  over  to  their  interest  many  wavering  persons 
and  our  success  is  wholly  ascribable  to  the  federal  spirit  of 
the  butternuts;  the  hardy  sons  of  this  new  settlement 
rushed  over  the  Otego  hills  an  irresistible  phalanx  and  bore 
down  all  opposition;  none  were  hostile  to  us  but  two  per- 
sons we  most  heartily  dispise  to  wit  Capt.  Craw  and  the 
would  be  Esquire,  the  former  a  doubleface  villain  and  the 
latter  a  notorious  rogue —  All  the  other  town  officers  are 

decidedly  and  unequivocally  federal  and  anti  C n  and 

were  carried  in  by  a  very  large  majority  and  I  think  the 
opposition  have  given  us  their  last  dying  speech  therefore 
let  us  join  chorus  with  Eli 

That  since  in  Political  dust  they  are  laid 

Their  all  dead  and  d d,  &  no  more  can  be  said. 

I  proposed  to  the  meeting  to  enter  into  a  resolution  to 
raise  a  sum  at  a  future  day  for  the  purpose  building  with 
other  towns  a  House  at  Cooperstown  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  poor  which  was  agreed  to  by  a  respectable  majority 


g>ome  ©to  Hetter*  149 

on  taking  the  question,  but  when  we  came  to  fix  the  sum 

the  Cullys  &  other  C n  devils  raised  such  a  cabal  and 

clamour  that  the  whole  business  was  knocked  in  the  head 
notwithstanding  I  urged  so  strongly  the  policy  interest  and 
economy  of  the  measure 

It  will  be  most  convenient  to  me  to  attend  to  the  running 
the  line  we  agreed  to  chain  about  the  middle  of  this  month, 
I  hope  therefore  it  may  be  convenient  and  agreeable  to  you 
to  meet  me  at  Esquire  deVillers  on  the  evening  of  tuesday 
the  15  instant  &  we  will  start  from  the  corner  the  next  morning 
&  dine  at  my  house 

Yours  &c 

J.  MORRIS 
Judge  Cooper  2  April  1794. 

P.  S. 

Our  town  looks  to  the  Cooperstown  manufactary 
for  a  supply  of  ballots  for  the  ensuing  election  you  will 
please  to  have  300  prepared  for  us  &  forwarded  in  good 
season — from  an  over  officiousness  in  driving  the  quill  here- 
tofore in  this  part  of  the  world  too  much  dependence  is 
generally  put  on  me  for  the  performance  of  that  duty  but 
I  feel  all  the  conscientious  scruples  with  regard  to  signing 
or  writing  my  name  on  a  certain  occasion  that  some  men 
do  when  about  to  commit  a  forgery — 

Had  I  known  that  a  militia  Capts.  commiss'n.  carried 
with  it  such  authority  among  the  New  England  settlers  I 
would  between  you  &  I  and  the  post  have  made  a  dead  set 
at  the  Commiss'n,  of  that  great  personage  mentioned  on 
the  other  leaf  last  winter. 

(Addressed) 
Honorable 
Judge  Cooper 
Cooperstown 


150          ICegenbg  of  a  Jlorrtjern  County 

F.  Z.  Lequoy  to  W.  Cooper 

Charleston,  (SC)     The  23  March  1795 

DEAR  SIR 

Your  letter  of  the  I2th  of  February  has  only  been  received 
but  few  days  ago,  it  is  not  a  little  satisfaction  to  me  to  hear 
of  your  family.  Whom  I  am  so  mutch  indented  for  all 
kinds  of  favors  and  polite  attentions. 

I  hope  soon  to  return  to  my  humble  and  philosophical 
retreat  whilst  you  will  shine  on  the  flour  amongst  the  dele- 
gates of  the  Union,  if  I  am  well  informed. 

My  buzinenes  here  are  prety  near  at  an  end,  and  I  shall 
soon  see  you  in  Philadelphia. 

The  Older  I  grow,  My  Dr  Sir,  the  less  I  am  determined 
for  matrimony.  What  you  are  please  to  say  on  that  subject 
is  of  the  most  flatering  prospect;  but,  I  begin  to  reflect  that 
to  make  ones  Wiffe  happy  it  is  not  sufficient  to  Wisch  it 
warmly. 

My  best  respects  to  all  your  family  but  more  particularly 
to  your  Bellowed  and  charming  Ms  Anna,  I  am  very 
Sincerely 


F.  Z.  LEQUOY. 


William  Cooper  Esqre 

Member  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
in  Philadelphia. 


Le  Quoy  was  a  refugee  who  kept  a  small  shop  at 
Cooperstown  for  some  time.  He  turned  out  to  be  a 
French  nobleman  who  at  one  time  had  been  Port 
Captain  of  St.  Pierre,  Martinique. 


DEAR  SIR  : — 


g>ome  ©to  Uetter*  151 

Jacob  Morris  to  W.  Cooper 

Albany  2  January  1796 


The  brilliancy  exhibited  at  Cooperstown  last  Tuesday — 
the  Masonic  Festival,  was  the  admiration  and  astonishment 
of  all  beholders —  Upwards  of  80  People  set  down  to  one 
Table — some  very  excellent  toasts  were  drank  and  the  great- 
est decency  and  decorum  was  observed  as  well  there  (in 
the  Academy)  as  in  the  procession  from  Huntington's 
Hotel. 

In  the  evening  we  had  a  splendid  ball  60  couple,  30  in  a 
set,  both  sets  on  the  floor  at  the  same  time,  pleasant 
manners  and  good  dancing.  .  .  . 

With  compl't's  to  Miss  Cooper  and  also  R.  R.  Smith 
notwithstanding  he  has  so  totally  forgotten  his  Butternut 
friends  I  conclude  Dr  Sir 

Your  ob  ser't 

JACOB  MORRIS 
Judge  Cooper 


DEAR  SIR— 


Moss  Kent  to  W.  Cooper 

Cooperstown,  April  7,  1796 


Your  children  here  are  well  and  Mrs.  Cooper  is  gradually 
gaining  strength.  She  has  rode  out  in  the  carriage  for 
several  mornings  past  and  means  to  continue  riding  when 

the  weather  will  permit.     Mrs.  C has  enjoined  it  upon 

me  to  inform  you  that  she  lives  very  unhappy  and  is  very 
impatient  for  your  return  and  wishes  you  to  bring  Isaac  & 
Nancy  with  you.  She  is  also  desirous  that  you  should 
engage  a  House  at  Burlington  before  you  return  as  it  is  her 


152          Hegenb*  of  a  J^ottftetn  Count? 

determination  never  to  spend  another  winter  in  this  coun- 
try. I  would  have  wished  that  Richard  had  wrote  you  on 
this  business  but  Mrs.  Cooper  enjoined  it  on  me,  and  my 
duty  and  politeness  to  her  induced  me  to  be  obedient  to  her 

request. 

I  am  yours  respectfully 

Moss  KENT 
Wm.  Cooper  Esq 
Member  of  Congress, 
Philadelphia 

Evidently  there  were  homesick  hours  for  Mrs. 
Cooper.  Judge  Cooper  rented  his  house  for  the  winter 
of  1798,  we  know  from  an  existing  lease,  but  he  seems 
to  have  kept  it  open  in  1797 — although  Mrs.  Cooper 
may  have  spent  that  winter  at  Burlington. 


W.  COOPER  to 
Hon.  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer 

Albany 

On  the  evening  of  the  third  day  of  June  I  shall  send  my 
wagon  and  one  or  two  spare  horses  to  the  Mohawk  to  accom- 
modate yourself  and  Robert — on  the  fourth  I  shall  have  the 
constables  with  their  staves  at  the  County  line  to  escort 
the  Judge  and  Retinue.  Attend  to  this  and  give  warning 

to  Fairly.  .  .  . 

Yours 

W.  COOPER. 

Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  was  a  Senator  and  Judge  of 
the  Court  of  Errors.  The  "Constables  with  staves'1 
would  have  resembled  Falstaffs  Army. 


£>ome  ©Ib  Iletter*  153 

S.  V.  R.  to  W.  Cooper 

Watervliet  Nov.  10  1797 

DEAR  JUDGE 

I  send  by  your  son  Richd  a  few  poplars  and  gooseberries 
to  ornament  your  garden.  I  am  apprehensive  the  season  is 
not  favorable  and  lest  they  should  not  succeed  I  shall  order 
some  to  be  forwarded  in  the  Spring —  Your  letter  I  handed 
to  the  Governor —  I  suppose  that  was  the  intention.  The 
day  we  left  your  hospitable  Mansion  I  was  much  diverted. 
Tomy  (Rev'd  Thomas  Ellison)  insisted  that  he  knew  the 
road  from  Herricks  and  led  me  to  Youngs  Lake  Richfield 
&  the  devil  knows  not  where  at  length  I  inquired — my 
conjectures  were  true  he  had  never  traveled  the  road.  We 
returned  both  in  a  pet — we  arrived  at  one  Castles  in  the 
town  of  Warren  a  miserable  house — our  horses  fatigued  it 
became  necessary  to  have  refreshment.  I  inquired  for 
oats —  Oats  in  plenty,  Torn7  for  a  pipe.  A  pipe  was 
brought  and  good  tobacco,  pray  landlord  says  Ellison 
have  you  anything  to  eat.  Why  because  we  live  in  the 
woods  do  you  think  we  do  not  eat — says  the  Esq. — to  judge 
from  your  looks  says  Tommy  one  would  not  think  you  did 
much  at  it.  A  laugh  all  round.  The  old  woman  was 
called ;  she  said  we  might  have  fresh  pike  and  beef  steaks — 
fresh  pike  says  Tommy — dancing  &  laughing — forgot  our 
circuitous  rout — and  with  difficulty  could  I  prevail  on  him 
to  start  after  dinner — he  advised  the  Esqr  to  send  you  some 
pike  and  brandy — being  scarce  articles  in  Coopers  Town — 
as  you  must  be  tired  by  this  time  of  reading  when  we  meet 
I  will  detail  the  rest,  I  expect  you  to  live  at  my  house  this 
winter. 

Yours 

S  VR 
(Stephen  Van  Rensselaer) 


154  ILegento  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

The  following  letter  was  written  by  Judge  Cooper  to 
Frederick  Augustus  Muhlenberg  with  the  hope  of  per- 
suading him  to  build  the  Lutheran  Seminary,  provided 
for  by  the  Will  of  John  Christopher  Hartwick,  at 
Cooperstown,  instead  of  on  the  Hartwick  Patent,  where 
it  now  stands,  about  three  miles  south  of  the  village. 
The  arguments  seem  convincing,  but  were  of  no  avail; 
the  Hartwick  Seminary  is  still  running  and  prosper 
ous,  while  the  academy  at  Cooperstown  long  since 
disappeared. 

W.  Cooper  to  Muhlenberg 

Cooperstown  November  19,  1797 
DEAR  SIR 

We  have  been  visited  by  the  Reverend  John  Frederick 
Ernst — as  the  Teacher  and  Pastor  agreed  on  by  you  and 
others  to  take  upon  him  the  charge  of  those  offices  consist- 
ant  with  the  will  of  the  late  John  Christopher  Hartwick — 
Altho  you  have  allowed  him  only  the  starving  sum  of  250 
dollars  Per  annum,  yet  if  you  join  that  to  our  Institution 
you  will  render  the  Man — the  Very  People  you  mean  to 
serve  and  the  Community  at  large  a  real  service  for  we  have 
a  noble  Edifice  Erected  at  the  Expense  of  £1500  chartered 
and  a  Library  granted  by  the  Regents  and  now  in  action — 
but  kept  open  for  a  superintendant  until  we  know  your 
determinations — which  from  your  ideas,  when  I  had  last 
the  pleasure  of  talking  with  you,  and  your  waiting  on  the 
trustees,  and  from  your  statements  I  expected  a  proposition 
on  your  part — which  is  still  uncertain,  and  our  Seminary  of 
Learning  kept  back.  My  dear  Sir,  it  would  be  as  improper 


£>ome  ©Ib  Hettertf  155 

for  you  to  spend  the  stock  of  that  estate  in  Erecting  Proper 
buildings  in  the  woods  for  the  Promotion  of  the  object 
before  you,  when  there  is  already  a  chartered  institution 
which  will  conform  to  your  mode  of  Directing  the  business — 
and  that  within  one  mile  of  the  Patent  in  a  fine  village  where 
board  and  all  kinds  of  mechanics  are  at  hand  for  the  con- 
venience of  the  students — where  there  is  a  decent  market 
and  upward  of  400  souls  in  a  compact  settlement — as  im- 
proper, I  say,  as  it  would  be  to  dig  a  canal  from  Philadel- 
phia to  Germantown  for  ships  to  unload  their — when  there 
are  already  good  warfs  in  Philadelphia  for  that  use —  The 
People  in  this  town  like  the  man  and  will  erect  a  house  for 
him,  and  subscribe  more  than  you  have  allowed  him  be- 
sides giving  him  the  advantage  of  the  tuition  money — but 
he  must  reside  here  and  take  the  charge  of  our  Academy — 
from  uniting  the  two  interests  great  Public  good  will  result, 
from  setting  up  two  institutions  within  four  miles  of  each 
other,  little  can  be  expected  from  one  or  the  other — in  short 
the  object  of  the  Dominie's  will  can  be  converted  into  the 
highest  Public  Utility  by  appropriating  not  more  than  half 
the  revenues  to  our  school.  We  have  one  room  in  it  that 
will  hold  1000  People —  The  People  on  the  Pattent  will 
attend  Divine  Service  here,  for  the  most  part,  that  would 
there —  Such  as  wish  to  be  taught  the  Languages  can 
come  better  for  their  children  can  have  bord  cheaper 
and  the  farmer  Pay  in  Produce.  But  we  must  know  as 
soon  as  you  can  conveniently  arrange  the  business — 
should  you  decline  joining  us  we  could  then  make  our  own 
arrangements. 

Yours  with  Great  Regard 

WILLIAM  COOPER 

Frederick  Augustus  Muhlenberg,  Esq. 


156         Eegettb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

Lequoy  to  W.  Cooper 

Hague  1 4th  May  1799 

DEAR  SIR 

Your  Embassador  Mr.  Murray  does  obligingly  afford  me 
a  sure  opportunity  to  write  to  my  friends  in  America,  as 
long  as  I  Leave  I  will  reckon  you  amongest  them.  Otsego 
never  will  stranger  to  my  heart  nor  all  his  good  inhabitants. 
I  am  now  in  a  diplomatic  line  and  entrusted  with  soame 
important  interest  of  my  Country  here. 

May  you,  Sir,  and  your  family,  be  as  happy  in  every  re- 
spect as  I  wish,  may  you  long  enjoye  of  the  respect  and 
Gratitude  from  all  your  tenants  and  the  filial  affection  of 
your  children.  To  whom  as  well  as  Mrs.  Cooper  I  beg  to 
be  remembered  is  and  will  be  my  warmest  vow 
I  remain,  Dear  Sir, 

Your  humble  Servant 

F.  Z.  LEQUOY 
To  William  Cooper  Esqre 
at  Cooperstown, 
Otsego  County, 
New  York 

J.  Fenimore  Cooper  to  W.  Cooper 

Coopers  Town  March  3d  1800 

DEAR  PAPA 

I  take  this  opportunity  to  write  to  you  as  Isaac  is  a  going 
directly  to  Philadelphia,  we  have  got  6  lambs  one  has  died 
and  another  is  most  dead.  Mr  Macdonald  is  a  going  to 
leave  us  for  Albany.  Mama  will  not  let  Samuel  go  with 
Isaac  though  he  wished  to  very  much.  I  go  to  school  to 
Mr.  Cory  where  I  write  and  cypher.  Mr.  Macdonald  has 
had  a  new  student  from  New  York  who  encamped  in  Mr. 
Kents  barn  and  laid  3  days  there  without  being  found  out 


g>ome  <©lb  Eettera  157 

and  had  his  feet  frozen.  We  are  all  well.  I  hope  I  shall 
have  the  pleasure  of  receiving  a  letter  from  you  soon  as  this 
letter  reaches  you — 

Your 

Affectionate  son 

JAMES  K.  COOPER 

1 8  Century,  1800 

This  is  said  to  be  the  first  letter  written  by  James 
Fenimore  Cooper;  probably  it  is  only  the  earliest  which 
has  survived.  The  "K"  is  for  "Kent,"  after  Moss 
Kent,  for  whom  James  Cooper  had  a  great  admiration. 

The  following  are  extracts  from  letters  written  to 
Judge  Cooper  by  Richard  R.  Smith,  of  Philadelphia, 
between  the  years  1794  and  1802: 

New  York,  6th  Nov.  1794. 
DEAR  JUDGE, 

I  wish  you  would  endeavor  to  sell  it  for  me,  and  also  to 
get  Walbridge  to  pay  me  some  for  I  declare  I  am  ashamed 
that  my  Friends  in  Philada  should  know  that  I  lived  Five 
Years  in  Otsego  and  told  them  I  was  making  money,  and 
then  let  them  find  out  that  I  was  forced  to  borrow  money  to 
get  away —  Please  to  give  my  compliments  to  Peter,  telling 
him  that  not  knowing  what  better  to  do,  I  left  his  in  Mrs. 
Hoffman's  hands  till  he  should  receive  his  orders —  I  have 
called  to  see  Nancy  several  times,  she  has  grown  to  be  a 
charming  Girl  though  she  was  always  that,  I  mean  that  she 
has  improved —  Miss  Bingham  and  Miss  Nesbitt  are 
well —  Isaac  is  well  and  sends  his  love,  we  embark  tomorrow 
morning  by  daylight  for  Burlington.  Compliments  to  Mrs. 
Cooper  and  believe  me  ever  yours, 

RICHD.  R.  SMITH. 


158          Hegentr*  of  a  Jfrort&em  Count? 

Philada.  25th  Novr.  1794 

DEAR  JUDGE 

Isaac  is  well  and  seems  contented,  tho'  he  says  Burlington 
is  not  equal  to  Cooperstown,  and  there  he  is  certainly  right , 
as  it  has  always  been  on  Sunday  when  I  have  been  at  Bur- 
lington, I  have  not  had  any  opportunity  of  examining  the 
school  in  person,  but  everybody  says  it  is  a  good  one  for 
that  kind  of  learning  which  you  wish  Isaac  to  have.  Re- 
member me  affectionately  to  Mrs.  Cooper  and  the  chil- 
dren—  I  Most  heartily  salute  our  agreeable  little  Circle 
and  indeed  all  Cooperstown — and  with  every  good  wish  for 
your  prosperity,  I  remain, 

Affectionately 

RICHD.  R.  SMITH. 

I  believe  I  shall  make  more  money  by  the  exchange  of 
place,  but  hang  me  if  I  expect  more  happiness —  You 
mention  that  Miss  Cooper  is  in  Albany  yet — when  you  see 
her  please  to  present  my  most  sincere  respects,  and  wishes 
for  her  happiness — I  am  not  without  hopes  of  seeing  her 
accompany  you  to  this  City,  when  you  come  down  to  the 
grand  Council — I  hope  you  have  beaten  them,  tho'  I  hear 
nothing  of  it  yet —  The  Fonda  system  is  not  necessary — 
the  markets  being  very  fine,  tho  they  are  excessively  dear — 
Mrs.  Cooper's  kind  attention  to  my  mare  demands  and 
receives  my  warmest  thanks —  I  often  think  of  Mrs. 
C's  kindness  to  me  with  gratitude  and  pleasure,  I  hope 
she  enjoys  health,  and  I  am  sure  I  wish  her  happiness,  kiss 
the  dear  little  children  for  me,  tell  them  I  certainly  shall 
remember  to  send  them  something  whenever  I  have  an 
opportunity —  It  grieves  me  that  I  cant  stop  and  help  you 
eat  a  Turkey  or  so  of  a  Sunday —  Remember  me  most 
affectionately  to  the  Lads,  tell  them  I  often  think  of  them, 
and  wish  I  could  take  a  Rubber  or  two.  I  believe  I  have 


g>ome  ©Ib  Hetter*  159 

said  everything  I  ought  to  say — if  there  is  anything  more 
let  it  be  good  Wishes  for  Mrs.  Cooper  and  the  Family — 
and  most  sincere  good  wishes  for  everybody  and  everything 
in  Coopers-Town.  Anti-federalism  is  much  below  Par 
here.  God  bless  you  and  believe  me 

ever  most  sincerely 

yours 

10  O  clock  at  night  RICHD.  R.  SMITH. 

so  says  the  Watchman — adieu — 

Philada.  Jany.  1st,  1795 

DEAR  JUDGE 

I  think  one  of  your  late  letters  to  me  mentioned  that  you 
were  without  an  assistant — but  perhaps  I  misunderstood 
you — my  reason  for  introducing  it  now  is  that  my  Brother 
is  not  in  any  considerable  business  and  I  believe  would  like 
to  live  in  Cooperstown —  I  flattered  myself  that  I  suited 
you,  and  I  dare  engage  that  he  will  give  at  least  equal  satis- 
faction— should  you  have  an  Idea  of  this  kind  you  will 
oblige  me  by  touching  upon  it  in  some  future  communica- 
tion—  Business  engrosses  the  chief  of  my  attention  but  I 
often  withdraw  my  mind  from  it  to  indulge  myself  with  a 
retrospective  view  of  the  many  pleasing  Hours  which  I  have 
spent  in  our  sweet  little  City,  and  particularly  those  which 
were  more  immediately  confined  to  domestic  enjoyment  in 
your  agreeable  Family —  I  fancy  Miss  Cooper  is  still  in 
Albany —  I  hear  nothing  of  her  arrival  in  New  York  yet 
I  regret  the  want  of  an  opportunity  to  send  her  some  new 
Books  with  which  I  know  she  would  be  pleased — but  some- 
one will  doubtless  present  itself  before  her  return  to 
Coopers  Town,  previous  to  which  she  would  scarcely  have 
leisure  to  read  them — in  the  mean  time  I  may  add  to  the 
collection —  The  paper  of  this  Evening  gives  an  Account 
of  General  Knox's  resignation  of  His  office — you  have  no 


160          Hegenb*  of  a  J^ortfjern  Count? 

doubt  heard  that  Col.  Hamilton  has  acted  a  similar  part — 
it  is  a  circumstance  sincerely  to  be  lamented  that  such  men 
should  be  driven  to  the  necessity  of  discontinuing  their 
public  labours  to  avoid  the  slanderous  abuse  of  the  greatest 
Rascals  in  Society —  Remember  me  most  respectfully  to 
Mrs.  Cooper  and  your  Family —  I  hope  "  de  frolic  season  " 
has  been  properly  kept —  I  often  longed  to  spend  it  with 
you —  I  cannot  particularise,  but  I  wish  to  be  remembered 
most  affectionately  to  all  my  Friends,  if  I  had  only  the  sole 
of  an  old  Shoe  that  had  belonged  to  any  of  them  I  should 
reverence  it —  I  know  you  will  do  the  best  you  can  for  my 
Interest —  If  Robert  Stephens  would  bring  my  mare  down 
I  would  satisfy  him  well  for  the  expence  and  trouble.  I 
want  her  much —  You  will  think  I  have  written  enough 
when  I  tell  you  that  it  is  Ten  o'clock,  and  that  I  slept  none 
last  night,  I  sat  up  with  a  Gentleman  of  my  acquaintance 
who  nearly  lost  his  life  by  an  accident —  Adieu  &  think 
me  ever  most  sincerely 

Yours 

RICHD.  R.  SMITH. 

I  hope  you  have  made  your  calling  and  your  Election  sure. 

Philada  Feby.  22d.  1798 

DEAR  JUDGE 

You  enquire  about  Merchandising —  It  is  bad  enough, 
God  knows —  I  have  often  wished  myself  back  in  Otsego— 
Francis,  our  old  Friend  Charles,  set  off  for  your  Country 
about  a  week  ago —  I  should  have  written  to  you  by  him 
but  I  had  heard  of  your  being  in  New  York — We  are  all  busy 
about  electing  a  Senator  in  the  State  Legislature — the  con- 
test is  between  Benj.  R.  Morgan,  a  Gentleman,  and  conse- 
quently a  Federalist,  and  a  Dirty  stinking  antifederal 
Tavern  keeper,  called  Israel  Israels—  But  Judge  the 


g>ome  ©Ib  Hetter*  161 

Friends  to  order  here  don't  understand  the  business — they 
are  uniformly  beaten — we  used  to  order  these  things  better 
at  Cooperstown — Please  remember  me  to  your  family  and 
believe  me  always 

Your 

RICHD.  R.  SMITH 


Philada.  March  isth,  1802. 

DEAR  SIR 

Miss  Morris  will  leave  this  City  to  day  to  join  her  Father 
in  New  York,  he  is  confined  there  by  a  severe  cold  caught 
in  travelling  which  prevented  his  coming  on  here  for  her — 
Your  daughter  Nancy  would  have  accompanied  Miss  M. 
but  -I  united  with  Mrs.  Fullerton  in  prevailing  upon  her  to 
postpone  that  measure  either  till  she  heard  from  you,  or 
till  the  unpleasant  circumstance  of  her  Brother  William  at 
Princeton  shall  be  cleared  up —  You  have  unquestionably 
heard  of  the  destruction  of  Princeton  College  by  Fire — 
The  manner  in  which  this  accident  happened  has  given  rise 
to  many  conjectures,  the  most  general  of  which  I  believe 
is  that  it  was  burned  by  an  accidental  communication  of  a 
spark  to  the  Roof,  but  some  either  from  malicious  or  other 
motives  have  insinuated  that  it  was  done  designedly  by 
some  of  the  students,  and  I  am  sorry  to  find  that  your  son 
William's  name  has  been  mentioned  as  concerned —  As 
far  as  I  can  learn  the  circumstances  which  gave  rise  to  sus- 
picion of  William,  was  a  Negro  girl,  belonging  to  a  Tavern 
Keeper  with  whom  William  had  had  a  quarrel,  swore  before 
a  magistrate  (either  of  her  own  accord  or  by  the  contrivance 
of  her  master)  that  he  had  offered  her  money  to  set  Fire  to 
her  Master's  House —  Upon  the  strength  of  this  I  under- 
stand William  will  not  be  permitted  to  leave  Princeton, 
till  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  which  I  understand  will  take 
place  soon.  Things  being  thus  circumstanced  I  concluded 


162         3Ugenb*  of  a  ^tortfjern  Countp 

it  would  be  best  for  Nancy  to  remain  here  for  the  present, 
for  the  account  had  reached  her  quite  as  soon  or  sooner 
than  it  did  me —  She  wishes  you  very  much  either  to  come 
on  for  her  yourself,  or  send  Isaac,  and  I  promised  to  join 
her  in  endeavoring  to  pursuade  you — indeed  although  I  have 
the  most  decided  confidence  in  William's  principles,  and 
have  no  doubt  of  his  being  cleared  of  this  imputation  to 
the  satisfaction  of  all  his  Friends,  yet,  I  think  it  would  be 
best  for  you  to  come  on —  I  heard  nothing  of  all  this  till 
Saturday  night.  I  shall  write  to  day  to  William  to  know 
whether  I  can  be  of  any  service  to  him —  My  wife  is  con- 
fined to  her  chamber  by  a  severe  indisposition,  or  I  would 
have  been  up  to  Princeton. 

With  much  haste, 

I  remain  yours 

R.  R.  SMITH 

The  following  letters,  signed  Elihu  Phinney,  were 
written  to  William  Cooper  by  the  owner  and  publisher 
of  the  first  newspaper  issued  in  Cooperstown ;  he  writes, 
shortly  after  his  arrival  on  November  4th,  1796: 

"Cooperstown  is  about  75  pr  cent  below  Proof — no 
life — no  society — no  Telegraphe — let  me  hear  from  you 
as  soon  as  convenient." 

This  may  have  been  due  to  homesickness.  Judging 
from  his  later  letters  this  lack  of  life  and  interest  van- 
ished. The  list  of  criminals  given  in  his  letter  of  1799 
must  not  be  considered  as  characteristic  of  the  village; 
I  think  that  they  were  political  offenders,  as  at  that 


£>ome  ©Ib  better*  163 

time  a  bitter  partisan  fight  was  under  way  in  this  section 
of  the  country. 

Cooperstown,  Jan.  4,  1796 

HON.  SIR, 

Your  kind  favours  of  the  Qth,  I3th,  &  15,  are  duly  re- 
ceived; and  have  afforded  me  a  pleasing  confirmation,  that 
distance  and  high  station  does  not  obliterate  the  remem- 
brance of  your  friends.  I  sincerely  wish  that  the  horizon 
of  Cooperstown  could  offer  something,  either  pleasing  or 
interesting  to  you;  but  our  eyes  are  turned  toward  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  for  our  mental  food,  the  ensuing 
winter.  Your  "Sweet  little  town"  remains  pretty  much  in 
Statu  quo.  The  buildings  erected  since  your  departure, 
are,  Baldwin's  and  Holt's  Houses,  a  Brick  Store  of  Mr. 
Landon's,  a  barn  of  Doct.  Gott's,  18  by  24,  a  barn  for  Mr. 
Huntington,  26  by  24,  one  for  myself,  18  by  24,  and  a  smal 
stable  on  Baldwins  lot.  The  roads  are  yet  nearly  impass- 
ible, the  merchants  have  not  received  their  goods;  and  altho' 
I  have  142  reams  of  paper  at  Albany  &  Schenectady,  I  have 
not  been  able  to  procure  any;  Mr.  Harssey  has  however 
been  out  for  Albany  and  not  yet  returned. 

Eldridge  has  run  off  for  Canada,  to  my  damage  at  least 
600.  and  Cooley  has  absconded  £40  in  my  debt;  those 
losses  are  equal  to  my  whole  proceeds  thro  an  assiduous 
summer ;  but  I  hope  by  industry  to  repair  the  loss. 

I  have  spent  but  two  evenings  at  Loo  since  you  left  town ; 
and  these  were  so  spent  out  of  respect  to  our  good  friend, 
the  Sheriff,  who  has  been  in  town  at  two  different  times. 
Your  caution  on  that  point,  is  a  proof  of  your  disinterested 
friendship  for  me,  as  well  as  your  ardent  wishes  for  the 
prosperity  of  this  delightful  place;  and  as  such  will  be 
cherished  by  me  with  scrupulous  regard  to  your  advice. 
Mrs.  Phinney  and  Mrs.  Noyes  present  their  respectful 


1 64          Hegenb*  of  a  J^ortfietn  Count? 

devoirs  to  Judge  Cooper;  our  family,  and  the  whole  village 
have  been  very  healthy,  since  you  left  us.  The  turret  of  the 
Academy  missed  of  being  painted  for  want  of  oyl,  which 
could  not  be  procured.  I  saw  Mr.  Starr  yesterday  and 
delivered  your  kind  message;  he  says  he  is  not  in  the  least 
discouraged,  we  immediately  opened  a  subscription  for  him ; 
but  he  has  concluded  not  to  rebuild  till  spring.  Mr. 
Andrews,  printer,  at  Stockbridge  has  mentioned  that  you 
would  pay  me  a  small  balance  due  me  from  him;  you  will 
please  to  give  orders  to  Mr.  Kent;  as  also  respecting  two  or 
three  mortgage  notices.  Do  you  yet  know  the  result  of 
what  passed  betwixt  you  and  myself  at  the  Court-house  an 
evening  or  two  before  you  left  Cooperstown? —  Having 
been,  I  fear,  too  prolix,  I  close  my  letter  by  assuring  you, 
that  I  am, 

Hon.  Sir,  your  grateful  and 
humble  servant 

ELIHU  PHINNEY. 
Hon.  W.  Cooper 

Addressed 

Honorable  William  Cooper 
Philadelphia. 

Cooperstown,  Deem.  23,  1799. 
HONORED  SIR, 

Your  kind  favor,  inclosing  Claypool's  Daily  Advertiser 
came  duly  to  hand,  accept  my  unfeigned  thanks  for  the 
favor. 

Inclosed  are  a  memorial  and  two  affidavits,  which  you 
are  requested  to  dispose  of  in  the  proper  manner,  and  to 
write  me  the  result  as  soon  as  known — they  are  handed  to  me 
by  a  former  acquaintance,  Elisha  Freeman,  a  very  honest 
man ;  I  conclude  they  will  be  handed  to  the  Secretary  of  State. 

Presuming  you  will  not  be  displeased  in  knowing  the 


£>ome  ©to  Hettera  165 

little  occurrences  in  Cooperstown  and  Vicinity  since  your 
departure  I  shall  recite  such  as  occur  to  my  mind. 

Bethel  Martin  has  been  admitted  to  bail  in  $600. 
Reuben  Root  came  and  voluntarily  surrendered  himself  on 
hearing  you  had  issued  a  warrant — he  is  bailed  in  $500.  Her- 
rington  and  a  Methodist  Priest,  Frederick  Woodward  have 
been  apprehended  and  admitted  to  bail  in  $500,  Alexander 
Truby  has  been  apprehended  and  stands  committed.  I  have 
written  to  the  Governor,  requesting  a  special  commission 
for  their  Trial,  and  am  informed,  not  officially  that  he 
has  complied.  The  guard  is  still  kept  up  and  very  good 
order  is  observed  in  the  Gaol.  Me  Donald  is  liberated  and 
is  preaching  on  the  Hartwick,  much  chagrined  at  not  being 
invited  to  stay  in  Cooperstown —  The  Society  have  sent 
for  and  obtained  a  Priest  from  Johnstown  by  name  of 
Sweetman —  B.  Wight  has  resigned  his  office  of  Gaoler, 
and  Charles  Mudge  is  deputed —  Jo.  Strong  has  sued  me 
for  defamation  for  saying  he  had  taken  fees  on  both  sides. 
I  shall  want  your  evidence — he  behaves  since  his  late  tri- 
umph with  more  insolence  than  ever —  Geo.  Walker  has 
got  a  fine  boy,  and  all  well —  Capt.  Sprague  has  erected  a 
Billiard  table;  there  has  as  yet  been  no  betting,  or  very 
trifling  and  I  believe  it  will  demolish  card  playing,  and  I 
hope  will  have  no  bad  effect. —  E.  Tillotson  has  given  I. 
Ingals  a  general  Power  of  Attorney  and  absconded.  Calvin 
Wright  has  become  bankrupt,  and  contemplates  taking  the 
Benefit  of  the  Insolvent  Act.  Old  Peck  and  Co.  are  inde- 
fatigable in  their  endeavors  to  procure  an  entirely  New 
Judiciary  for  this  County —  I  beg  you  to  be  extremely 
cautious  as  to  delivery,  my  private  opinion  is  opposed  to 
the  measure.  I  hope  your  wish  to  retire  will  give  way  to  the 
Public  Good —  I  hope  to  see  you  at  January  Court — 
Shall  take  the  earliest  opportunity  of  informing  you  of 
every  occurrence  of  moment. 


1 66          Hegenb*  of  a  JBtottftetn  Count? 

The  election  of  Mr.  Sedgwick  to  the  Chair  is  a  happy 
presage  of  the  predominance  of  Federal  principles  in  the 
House  of  Representatives —  I  find  the  Senate  has  given  a 
sort  of  silent  disapprobation  of  the  late  Mission  to  France, 
that  is  a  subject,  in  my  opinion,  which  should  be  delicately 
handled.  It  is  certainly  unpalatable;  but  may  be  politi- 
cally expedient. 

Must  we  be  still  plagued,  cheated  and  insulted,  by  that 
Pest  to  Society,  that  Scourge  to  Cooperstown,  Jo.  Strong 
as  Post-master?  It  is  the  united  wish  of  all  true  friends  to 
the  interest  of  the  County  that  an  honest  man  should  be 
appointed.  Perceiving  you  begin  to  yawn  at  the  prolixity 
of  this  epistle,  I  shall  close  by  wishing  you  health  and 
happiness — 

I  remain, 

Honored  Sir, 

your  unfeigned  Friend  and 
humble  servant 

E.  PHINNEY. 

Honorable  William  Cooper, 
in  Congress, 

Philadelphia 

Cooperstown  Feb.  21,  1800 

HON'D  SIR, 

I  sent  you  about  6  weeks  ago  2  packages  enclosing  peti- 
tions and  affidavits  from  some  men  in  Worcester,  accom- 
panied by  a  letter  giving  a  circumstantial  account  of  the 
little  occurrences  in  Cooperstown  and  having  received  no 
acknowledgment  of  the  receipt  of  the  same  I  fear  they  have 
miscarried,  or,  that  the  infamous  Scape  goat  has  suppressed 
your  answer.  Be  so  good  as  send  me  word  thro'  the  Cherry- 
Valley  Post-office,  for  the  continued  villainy  of  Jo  Strong  is 
insufferable.  Last  Sunday  the  mail  lay  over  till  Monday 


g>ome  ©to  Hetter*  167 

morning;  nor  could  any  one  except  his  small  junto  procure 
either  a  letter  or  paper,  altho*  on  Sunday  evening  repeated 
applications  were  made,  and  the  room  constantly  full  of 
people. 

You  have  no  doubt,  ere  this  heard  that  the  late  honorable 
Council  on  the  last  day  of  their  sitting  ordered  a  Super- 
sedeas  for  me.  The  County  is  alive  with  indignation  and 
apprehension.  I  cannot  predict  what  the  result  will  be; 
but  hope  for  the  best.  Your  son  Richard  is  so  busily  en- 
gaged in  the  business  as  to  almost  prevent  his  attention  to 
any  other. 

I  remain,  Hon.  Sir, 

with  great  respect 

your  obedt.  humble  servt. 

E.  PHINNEY. 
Hon.  W.  Cooper 

Eliphalet  Nott  to  Judge  Cooper 

Cherry  Valley  Dec.  2  1796. 

To  JUDGE  COOPER — SIR — 

Your  goodness  will  pardon  me  for  troubling  you  on  a 
subject  so  uninteresting  to  yourself.  My  reasons  are  partly 
the  intimations  you  gave  me  at  Cooperstown,  of  affording 
me  some  assistance  provided  I  purchased  the  half  of  Mr 
Waldo's  farm — but  more  especially  the  humanity  of  your 
character — Mr  Waldo  has  obtained  from  Wm  Banior  in 
behalf  of  Clark  a  durable  Lease  of  his  farm — &c —  I  have 
bought  of  Mr  Waldo  &  am  to  make  all  the  payments  before 
the  first  of  April  next —  I  wish  to  hire  eight  or  nine  hun- 
dred dollars  to  be  paid  in  yearly  payments  two  hundred 
dollars  cash — 

Now  Sir  if  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  direct  Mr  Kent  to  let 
me  have  the  whole  or  part  of  the  some  mentioned  you  will 


1 68          HLegenb*  of  a  jBtortfjern  Count? 

greatly  oblige  one  of  your  fellow  creatures,  'tho  not  a  per- 
sonal acquaintance —  As  security  I  will  propose  Judg. 
Hudson,  Luther  Rich  or  O.  L.  Waldo,  as  sharers  of  the  ob- 
ligations in  company  with  me — or  give  you  a  mortgage  of 
the  farm —  I  am  sensible  Sir  it  may  cause  you  some 
trouble  being  so  far  off — but  the  obligingness  of  your  char- 
acter assures  me  your  assistance  notwithstanding  if  it  be  with- 
in your  power —  I  wish  you  sir,  to  be  so  kind  as  to  write  me 
what  you  will  do  respecting  the  business  as  soon  as  it  is  con- 
venient— and  if  you  can  do  me  this  favor  at  all  or  any  part  of 
it — you  will  please  to  write  to  Mr  Kent  on  the  subject  .  .  . 
I  am  sir  with  great  esteem  & 
Respect  your 

Friend  &  most 

Obed 

Jud.  Cooper-  ELIPHALET  NOTT. 

I  insert  this  letter  to  Judge  Cooper  to  show  that 
"G.  Washington"  was  a  landholder  in  our  vicinity,  as 
were  also  Necker  and  Madame  de  Stael. 

SIR— 

The  lands  which  I  hold  on,  or  near  the  Mohawk  river,  are 
in  Partnership  with  Mr.  Clinton  (late  Govr-  of  New  York) 
who  has  had,  and  continues  still  to  have  by  a  power  of 
Attorney  the  disposal  of  them. 

It  is  not  in  my  power  to  inform  you  at  what  price  he  has 
lately  sold  any — but  of  this  you  can  easily  be  informed  by  a 
line  to  that  Gentleman  or  if  you  desire  it,  I  will  write  to 
him  myself  on  the  subject. 

I  am  Yr  Obed*  Ser. 

G.  WASHINGTON. 

Saturday    ) 
20th  Feby  j    I79 


g>ome  ©to  Uetter*  169 

I  have  nothing  to  show  where  "G.  Washington's" 
land  was  situated.  James  Necker's  tract  consisted 
of  twenty- three  thousand  acres,  in  McComb's  Pur- 
chase, St.  Lawrence  County;  part  was  in  town  num- 
ber Six  and  part  in  "  Fitzwilliam " ;  both  in  the  third 
allotment. 

Necker  and  Judge  Cooper  had  a  partnership  agree- 
ment as  to  this  land,  still  existing  among  my  old  papers. 
It  was  with  reference  to  it  that  Necker's  daughter,  after 
his  death,  wrote  as  follows : 


Coppet — on  the  i;th  of  October  1804 
Switzerland 

SIR,— 

I  have  received  the  agreement  you  have  made  for  my 
lands,  with  Mr?  Morris  and  LeRay.  I  sent  to  Mr?  Le-Ray 
and  Bayard,  my  respectable  correspondents,  the  author- 
isation to  accept,  or  refuse,  or  modificate  the  agreement. 

They  have  all  my  trust.  If  they  accept,  I  shall  be  very 
happy  to  entertain  an  en  sut  correspondance  with  you. 
And  I  am  sure  by  the  praises  which  my  friends  have  given 
to  your  character,  that  you  will  not  consider  this  transac- 
tion as  a  mere  affair  of  interest,  but  that  you  will  take  pleas- 
ure in  increasing  the  fortune  of  a  mother  of  three  children, 
and  of  a  daughter  of  M.  Necker.  I  pray  you,  Sir,  to 
render  our  communication  rapid,  what  ever  may  be  the 
distance  which  separates  us,  to  send  your  letters  open 
to  me,  by  the  way  of  M1?  LeRay  and  Bayard,  they  will 
join  their  observations  to  your  letters,  and  I  shall  answer 
immediately. 

Excuse  me,  Sir,  for  my  ignorance  of  a  foreign  language. 


170          Hegenfcg  of  a  J^ortfjern  County 

I  can  read  it  perfectly  well,  but  this  is  the  first  time  I  did 
venture  to  write  in  it. 

In  every  language,  believe  me,  Sir, 
yours  &c 

NECKER  BNE  STAEL  DE 
HOLSTEIN. 
Mr  le  juge  Cooper. 

Hannah  Cooper  to  her  brother  Isaac. 

This  letter  is  undated  but  is  indorsed  "Miss  Cooper, 
June  25.-July  3rd.,  1798,  received  in  Albany."  It  is 
interesting  as  showing  that  Isaac  Cooper  went  to  school 
at  Reverend  Thomas  Ellison's  at  Albany,  where  James 
was  sent  two  years  later.  The  "Jim"  mentioned  is 
James  Fenimore  Cooper. 

Mr.  Isaac  Cooper 

Reverend  Thomas  Ellison 
Albany. 

Nancy  tells  me  in  her  letter  that  you  ask  me  to  write  to 
you.  I  am  happy  to  do  it,  or  any  thing  else  my  dear 
Brother  that  you  wish — but  should  have  been  more  happy 
if  the  request  had  been  made  in  a  letter  of  your  own.  I 
should  have  been  pleased  with  the  attention,  but  now  hope 
I  shall  soon  have  the  pleasure  of  hearing  from  you,  pray 
how  do  you  like  Albany  ?  what  are  your  studies  ?  and  who 
your  companions?  the  last  thing  is  of  vast  consequence, 
and  I  sincerely  hope  you  may  not  become  intimate  or  ac- 
quainted with  the  low,  vicious  Boys  of  which  you  have  so 
many  around  you.  Mama  is  much  better,  the  Boys  are 
well,  Jim  has  grown  almost  as  large  as  William,  the  Doctor 


£>ome  ©Ib  Hetter*  171 

has  grown  also,  they  are  very  wild  and  show  plainly  they 
have  been  bred  in  the  Woods,  they  go  to  school  and  are 
learning  Latin.  I  do  not  know  what  progress  they  make, 
but  hope  you  will  make  a  great  improvement  in  your  learn- 
ing, pray  write  soon  and  believe  me  your  affectionate  sister 

ANNA  COOPER 

Philadelphia  June  25 

While  this  letter  is  signed  "Anna  Cooper"  it  was 
written  by  Hannah,  who  seems  to  have  been  at  that 
time  often  called  Anna.  Nancy  was  her  younger 
sister  Anna  who  became  Mrs.  George  Pomeroy  and  for 
whom  the  old  stone  house  was  built  on  the  corner  of 
River  and  Main  streets. 

Judge  Cooper  made  every  effort  to  educate  his  sons. 
In  addition  to  the  schools  at  Cooperstown,  two  of  them, 
probably  William  and  Richard,  went  to  a  school  in 
Schenectady.  Isaac  and  James  went  to  Rev.  Thomas 
Ellison's,  at  St.  Peter's  Rectory,  Albany.  James  went 
to  Yale  and  was  expelled  in  his  junior  year,  William 
went  to  Princeton  and  was  also  expelled,  I  think.  I  do 
not  know  what,  if  any,  colleges  the  others  went  to. 

Hannah  Cooper  to 
Mr.  Isaac  Cooper, 
Mrs.  Simmons, 

No.  7  North  Sixth  Street,  Philadelphia 

DEAR  ISAAC  You  observe  I  begin  in  this  old  fashioned  way 
— being  so  sensible  of  your  worth  since  your  absence — that 
no  address  save  an  affectionate  one  would  correspond  with 
my  sentiments.  I  have  just  returned  from  hearing  a  new 


172          Hegenb*  of  a  Jflorfljern  Count? 

Minister,  who  is  offered  a  situation  here — his  name  is  Lewis 
— from  New  England — his  discourse  was  very  agreeable — 
could  we  get  him — we  shall  have  no  occasion  to  lament  Mr 
Me  Donald's  absence.  Our  friend  and  neighbour  Mrs. 
Dunham  is  below — about  to  take  a  Sunday's  dinner  with 
us — and  little  Amelia  Osborne  these  two  with  A.  B.  are  all 
we  have  in  addition  to  our  own  number — and  I  suppose 
you  think  a  part  of  these  sufficient  to  make  us  happy — her 
amiable  manners  and  character  do  indeed  delight  us,  but 
we  are  beginning  to  anticipate  her  loss — which  most  prob- 
ably will  now  shortly  happen —  Ann  has  been  writing  to 
her.  there  you  must  look  for  particulars —  Saw  Katy 
and  Cousin  at  Church — a  pretty  looking  little  girl  this  last — 
The  Doctor  visits  us  sometimes,  he  pines  after  you — at 
least  he  says  so.  I  do  not  know  if  you  Gentlemen  be  sincere 
when  you  say  such  things  of  each  other,  when  speaking  of 
the  ladies,  we  do  not  expect  truth.  Uncle  James  has  re- 
moved to  the  Mills.  Of  course  our  Hart  wick  rides  are 
less  frequent  than  formerly — the  New  Bridge,  "Isaac  and 
Mary,"  has  been  carried  away  by  the  flood — at  least  ma- 
terially damaged.  I  hope  this  is  not  an  unhappy  prog- 
nostic—  The  girls  I  conclude  have  informed  you  that 
Capt.  Cooper  has  left  us —  What  do  you  mean  by  abusing 
the  Philadelphia  ladies,  they  are  very  handsome,  and  very 
elegant  I  am  sure. —  Write  to  me  to  explain  this  matter 
and  consider  me  your  affectionate  sister — 

HANNAH  COOPER 

Cooperstown  April  I3th  1800 

Hannah  Cooper  to  Isaac  Cooper, 

Cooperstown,  April  26  1800 

MY  DEAR  ISAAC — We  are  as  well  as  can  be  expected — yes 
as  well  as  can  be  expected,  for  two  hours  ago — the  amiable 


g>ome  ©to  Hetter*  173 

interesting  and  charming  M.  A.  M.  left  us —  You  have 
been  remiss  in  not  writing  lately 

Henry  complains — Nancy  scolds — there  is  another  who 
feels  it  although  she  neither  complains  nor  scolds —  We 
wish  to  have  particular  accounts  of  you — when  are  we  to 
look  for  you  home?  This  summer  or  not?  Take  care  of 
your  old  stockings  and  bring  them  with  you,  in  haste  your 
affectionate  sister 

HANNAH  COOPER 
Mr.  Isaac  Cooper. 

"Charming  M.  A.  M."  was  Mary  Ann  Morris,  who  a 
little  later  married  Isaac  Cooper.  Fenimore  Cooper  in 
his  unfinished  Sketch  of  Otsego  Hall  mentioned  her  as 
having  spent  part  of  the  winter  of  1800  there. 

William  Cooper  to 

William  Cooper  Junior 
Princeton  College, 

New  Jersey  July  9,  1800 

DEAR  WILLIAM 

You  have  not  written  me  since  my  return  to  Coopers- 
town.  I  am  anxious  to  hear  of  your  advancement,  and 
calculate  on  your  being  the  first  of  scholars,  knowing  that 
your  abilities  and  memory  are  equal  to  any  of  your  age; 
and  you  have  everything  to  make  you  ambitious;  here  is  a 
great  country  and  no  young  man  has  such  an  opportunity 
as  yourself  of  being  the  first  man  in  it.  On  your  industry 
depends  whether  you  are  to  be  the  great  good  and  useful 
man — or  nothing.  I  have  it  in  contemplation  to  send 
you  to  Edinborough  or  London  for  two  or  three  years 
before  you  launch  into  life  and  after  you  have  the  sanction 


174          1Lt&tvto&  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

of  that  first  of  schools  at  Princeton,  to  which  you  may  if  you 
please  be  an  Honour  and  make  its  tutors  and  governors 
Proud  to  claim  you  as  a  Product  of  that  institution;  and  I 
will  say  it  again — you  have  the  ability  and  may  if  you  will 

WM.  COOPER. 

On  the  inside  of  this  sheet  is  the  following  by  Hannah 
Cooper: 

DEAR  BROTHER — it  is  very  late  at  night — nobody  in  the 
house  up — save  myself — and  Mama,  who  is  playing  upon  the 
Organ — this  amusement  engages  her  every  night  after  the 
family  have  separated,  and  very  pretty  effect  it  has,  being 
not  unlike  a  serenade,  which  you  know  is  the  manner  of 
courting  with  the  Spaniards — it  must  be  charming  for  the 
Spanish  Belles — but  very  toilsome  for  their  Beaus —  The 
Weather  is  now  uncommonly  warm  here,  our  fourth  of  July 
passed  very  brilliantly  away — there  were  not  any  fire  works 
but  the  Masonic  Hall  was  handsomely  illuminated — the 
Lads  and  Lasses  repaired  in  the  evening  to  our  House — 
and  we  had  quite  a  large  party  to  dance ' '  rallying  round  our 
library  "  Sister  Nancy  has  not  returned  from  Sister  Mary's 
yet.  We  expect  her  in  a  day  or  two  Mr.  Fitch  has 
Richard's  Farm — he  removes  there  shortly.  Doctor  grows 
quite  tall,  is  nearly  as  large  as  James — the  family  desire 
their  love, — Good  night — may  your  dreams  be  sweet 

Your  loving  sister  HANNAH  COOPER 
Cooperstown  July  12,  1800 

J.  Fenimore  Cooper  to  Isaac  Cooper 

Albany  Sept.  5  1801 

CORPORAL 

I  sit  down  to  write  to  you  by  the  desire  of  Mrs.  Ellison 
who  wishes  me  to  ask  you  to  send  by  the  most  careful  person 


©Ib  netted  175 


you  can  find  coming  this  way  the  very  finest  piece  of  cambric 
muslin  you  have  got,  in  your  Store.  Such  as  Mrs.  Banyer 
got.  Sisters  &  Papa  left  this,  this  morning  Papa  gave  me 
70  dollars  for  to  pay  some  debts  and  as  I  went  to  Mr. 
Banyers  to  see  them  start  I  either  lost  them  a  going  or  after 
I  came  to  Mr.  Banyers  I  do  not  know  which,  I  searcht  for 
them  but  they  have  not  yet  shown  their  faces,  Sisters  both 
where  in  good  health,  likewise  Papa,  Lieut.  Cooper  is  a 
recruiting  here,  you  must  excuse  mistakes  bad  writing  as  I 
am  in  a  great  hurry. 

JAMES  COOPER 
Mr.  Isaac  Cooper 
Cooperstown. 

W.  Cooper  to  B.  Walker 
DEAR  SIR 

the  land  is  yet  in  despute.  I  have  obtained  two  decrees 
against  Judge  Livingston,  he  now  applys  to  the  court  of 
Errors.  I  think  that  it  belongs  to  him,  if  to  me  a  division 
will  be  desirable. 

why  are  you  not  at  the  Post  of  duty,  of  Honour,  of  danger, 
of  Every  thing  that  is  disquieting  to  a  man  whose  views  are 
honest,  of  Everything  that  is  instructive  to  the  man  who 
wishes  to  learn  the  art  of,  Hook  &  Snivery  —  if  there  is  such 
a  word,  or  if  their  is  not,  I  now  make  it. 

Adieu 

WM.  COOPER. 

Jany.  6,  1802 
B  Walker  Esq. 

J.  H.  Imlay  visited  Judge  Cooper  at  Cooperstown  in 
the  summer  of  1800,  with  General  Bloomfield.  It  is  to 
this  visit  which  he  refers  repeatedly  in  his  letters.  He 


176          Hegente  of  a  J^tortfjern  Countp 

evidently  was  in  love  with  Hannah  Cooper,  and  as  late  as 
1810,  the  date  of  his  last  letter,  was  true  to  her  memory. 

His  correspondence  throws  an  interesting  light  on  the 
monument  set  up  in  1 80 1  or  2  at  the  spot  where  she  was 
killed  in  October,  1800 ;  it  was  made  in  Philadelphia  under 
his  supervision  and  Richard  R.  Smith's ;  one  of  the  inscrip- 
tions, which  cover  three  sides^of  the  shaft,  was  written  by 
him,  one  by  a  Mrs.  Meredith,  and  one  by  a  Miss  Wistar, 
both  of  Philadelphia ;  the  fourth  side  was  to  have  had  an  in- 
scription written  by  Mrs.  Jepson,  of  New  York  or  Albany, 
and  a  Mrs.  Beach,  then  living  in  Virginia ;  for  some  reason 
this  latter  inscription  never  was  put  on  the  monument. 

The  inscriptions  referred  to  as  they  now  appear  on 
the  monument  read  as  follows : 

SOUTH  SIDE 

Sacred  to  the  Memory  of 

Miss  Hannah  Cooper,  Daughter 

of  the  Honble  William  Cooper 

and  Elizabeth  his  Wife. 

In  the  bloom  of  Youth,  in  perfect 

health,  and  surrounded  with  her 

Virtues 

On  the  loth  day  of  September,  1800 
She  was  instantly  translated  from 

this  World 
Thrown  from  her  horse,  on  the  spot 


g>ome  ©ft  Hetter*  177 

on  which  this  monument  is  erected. 

Sensible,  gentle,  amiable, 
In  life  beloved,  in  death  lamented, 

By  all  who  knew  her. 
Unconscious  of  her  own  perfections 
She  was  a  stranger  to  all  ambition 
but  that  of  doing  good. 

By  her  death 

The  tender  joys  of  an  affectionate 
Father,  the  fond  expectations  of 

a  delighted  Mother 
In  an  instant  were  blasted ! 

Passenger — Stop ! 
And  for  a  moment  reflect — 
That  neither  accomplishment  of 

Person 

Nor  great  improvements  of  mind 

Nor  yet  greater  goodness  of  heart, 

Can  arrest  the  hand  of  death. 

But — She  was  prepared  for  that 

Immortality,  in  which  she  believed 

And  of  which  she  was  worthy — 

To  departed  worth  &  excellence 

This  monument  is  erected. 
This  tribute  of  affection  is  inscribed 
By  a  friend,  this  ist  day  of  January,  1801. 


178          Hegenb*  of  a  Jlort&ent  Count? 

NORTH  SIDE 

For  thee,  sweet  Maid, 

Resplendent  beams  of  thought, 

Wisdom's  rich  love, 

By  Seraph's  hands,  were  given 

Thy  spotless  soul, 

The  pure  effulgence  caught, 

It  sparkled — was  exhaled — 

And  went  to  Heaven. 

'Twas  thine— 

To  animate  life's  swift  career, 

Mild — modest — artless — 

Innocently  gay, 

Twas  thine — to  fill  an  higher 

Nobler  sphere — 

With  sainted  spirits 

In  the  realms  of  day, 

Thy  native  worth 

With  diamond  pen  enrolled, 

Beyond  this  sculptured 

Monument  shall  live. 

And  charity — 

Of  fair  ethereal  mould 

A  lasting  tribute 

To  thy  memory  give. 


feome  ©to  better*  179 

EAST  SIDE 

The  sculptured  marble 

The  recording  tomb, 

Shall  mouldering  perish 

In  the  hand  of  time. 

Thy  weeping  friends, 

Be  gathered  to  their  home 

And  memory  cease 

To  mark  thy  shrine. 

Some  hoary  moss, 

Some  drooping  willow'd  shade. 

Or  decent  sod, 

Or  still  more  humble  dust 

Shall  guard  the  spot 

Where  thou  art  laid 

In  long 

Oblivious  silence  lost. 

Yet  shall  thy  virtues, 

Thou  dear  sainted  maid, 

By  friends  transmitted 

Thro'  succeeding  years; 

Be  still  remembered 

'Til  e'en  time  shall  fade, 

When  thou  released 

From  mortal  cares, 


i8o  Hesenb*  of  a  Jlorrtjern  Count? 

Shall  live  triumphant 
In  a  happier  world — 

J.  A.  Imlay  to  R.  F.  Cooper 

Allen  Town  New  Jersey  Mar.  2Qth  1803 

MY  DEAR  SIR 

...  I  greet  you  with  my  best  friendship  and  good 
wishes.  The  recollection  of  the  many  happy  hours,  which 
my  last  visit  to  Cooperstown  afforded  me,  has  often  induced 
the  wish  to  become  an  inhabitant  of  your  pleasant  and 
charmingly  situated  village — But  alas!  With  that  desire 
is  associated  the  recollection  of  a  catastrophe  at  once  the 
most  melancholy,  the  most  painful,  and  affective  of  my 
life,  even  time  itself — which  with  lenient  hand — is  said  to 
mitigate  sorrow — and  reconcile  affliction — will  never  from 
my  mind  efface  the  recollection  of  that  event — no,  I  shall 
ever  remember — and  ever  lament  it —  .  .  . 

I  most  sincerely  and  fervently  reciprocate  the  good 
wishes  of  yourself — and  the  family — and  I  beg  you  to  pre- 
sent me  to  each  one — in  terms  of  the  most  cordial  good  will 
and  regards — and  believe  me — 

Very  sincerely  your 

friend 

J.  H.  IMLAY. 

P.  S.  Miss  J.  Imlay  feels  herself  much  gratified  in  the 
kind  remembrance  of  her — by  your  sister  and  desires  to 
present  her  love  in  return. 

Richard  F.  Cooper,  esquire 
Coopers  Town 

Otsego  Co., 
New  York. 


&>ome  ©to  Hetter*  181 

Alexander  Hamilton  to  Judge  Cooper. 

New  York,  September  6,  1802 

DEAR  SIR 

I  congratulate  you  and  myself  on  your  victory  over 
Brockholst.  Whether  your  interest  is  much  promoted  by  it 
or  not  is  of  small  consequence — In  the  triumph  of  vanquish- 
ing such  an  enemy.  That  you  know  was  your  principal  in- 
ducement and  I  know  that  you  will  be  willing  to  pay  well 
for  it. 

I  have  been  deliberating  whether  to  charge  you  200  or 
100  pounds  for  my  services  in  this  cause.  In  fixing  upon 
the  latter,  I  am  afraid  I  shall  offend  you.  But  I  love  to 
show  my  moderation  &  therefore  whether  you  are  angry  or 
not  I  will  only  have  One  hundred. 

This  I  beg  you  to  remit  without  delay — I  have  been 
building  a  fine  house  and  am  very  low  in  cash;  so  that  it  will 
be  amazingly  convenient  to  me  to  touch  your  money  as 
soon  as  possible. 

I  wish  you  many  pleasant  moments  and  that  you  may  be 
able  to  steer  clear  of  the  Court  of  Errors.  I  have  fought 
so  hard  for  you  that  I  am  entirely  exhausted. 

Yours  with  great  regard, 

A.  HAMILTON 

The  Brockholst  referred  to  was  Brockholst  Living- 
ston and  the  dispute  was  over  the  title  to  certain 
lands  in  the  western  part  of  the  State. 

Aaron  Burr  to  Judge  Cooper 

Philada  26  Feb.  1793 
SIR:— 

Upon  my  arrival  in  this  city  a  few  days  past,  I  had  the 
pleasure  to  receive  your  letter  of  the  iQth  ult.  which  had  I 
suppose  lain  some  time  in  the  office  here  during  my  absence. 


1 82          3Ugenb6  of  a  j^ortfjern  County 

I  thank  you  much  for  your  Civility  in  regard  of  the 
K.  Kill  Land,  but  I  observe  with  extreme  surprize  that  you 
would  suppose  me  capable  of  deceiving  or  misleading  you  in 
the  smallest  particular.  On  the  18  or  19  Dec  Mr.  Cutting 
conveyed  to  me  in  fee  simple  all  the  lands  late  Griswold 
at  K.  K.  (two  or  three  lots  which  had  been  sold  excepted) 
together  with  a  small  farm  at  Lonenburgh.  I  came  soon 
after  to  this  City,  the  Deed  and  all  the  papers  remaining 
in  my  possession  and  having  then  no  intention  to  part  with 
the  Land;  Indeed  I  went  to  some  trouble  and  expense  to 
settle  the  claim  of  Lott  &c. — About  the  last  of  Jan.  I  re- 
turned to  N.  York  and  then  agreed  with  Mr.  C. to  sell 

him  the  Land  again  for  a  certain  sum  more  than  I  had  given, 
and  did  thereupon  re-convey  them  to  him —  This  sum 
together  with  that  part  of  the  purchase  money  which  I  had 
paid,  are  secured  to  me  by  a  Mortgage  now  on  record  in 
Albany —  I  believe  I  apprized  you  of  this  reconveyance, 
by  Letter  written  on  or  about  the  Day  it  was  executed — 

I  beg  you  to  pardon  the  trouble  of  this  trifling  detail, 
(which  is  intended  only  to  satisfy  you  of  my  Candor  in  the 
business,)  and  to  be  assured  that  I  am 
Very  respectfully, 

Yr.  Obedtt.  St. 

AARON  BURR. 

The  following  letter  relates  to  the  building  of  Christ 
Church,  Cooperstown.  The  copy  in  my  possession 
does  not  show  to  whom  it  was  written. 

Cooperstown  July  13,  1806 

DEAR  SIR— 

Your  letter  on  Various  subjects  has  just  come  to  hand — 
which  I  take  in  order. 

The  vote  of  the  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church  to  give  the 


g>ome  ©to  Hetter*  183 

society  of  Episcopalians  in  and  round  Cooperstown,  1500 
Dollars  when  they  had  finished  the  church  under  contempla- 
tion will  no  doubt  warme  the  hearts  and  create  a  Joy  amongst 
them  to  think  they  are  still  had  in  remembrance  by  their 
opulent  Brethren — as  to  myself  it  does  not  meet  fully  what 
I  expected.  Under  other  circumstances  the  Donation  is  a 
liberal  one  for  which  the  Vestry  ought  to  be  thanked, — but 
as  I  am  not  of  that  Society,  tho'  I  love  them,  and  led  into  the 
measure  solely  from  the  good  that  is  manifest  since  Mr. 
Nash  has  brought  them  together  and  frequently  hearing 
my  Poor  neighbors  lament  their  inability  to  bring  up  their 
children  in  the  way  they  had  been  brought  by  their  fathers. 
But  three  days  ago  I  lodged  with  a  farmer — he  had  his  har- 
vest hands  round  him — in  the  morning  he  called  them  all  to- 
gether, he  and  his  wife  kneeling,  he  read  Prayers  and  all  was 
quiet — The  effect  of  such  things  are  better  felt  than  ex- 
pressed but  on  this  ocation  it  is  proper  you  should  know  my 
motive  for  offering  to  Do  what  I  expect  but  very  few  of 
your  wealthy  members  within  the  Pale  of  your  church 
would  do  for  their  own  cause — tho'  I  consider  it  as  Every 
Mans  cause — and  I  have  thought  for  two  or  more  years 
back  that  our  political  welfare  depended  much  on  adhearing 
to  the  rules  of  religion — But  I  cannot  act  under  a  mark  of 
suspicion — had  the  donation  been  in  $500.  annual  instal- 
ments and  mine  the  same — I  could  have  gone  on  with  the 
Church — yet  I  should  then  have  thought  the  great  wealth 
of  your  church  ought  to  give  $500  more  than  an  Individual 
not  of  that  Church — I  am  conscious  that  the  Vestry  may 
have  had  their  donations  illy  appropriated,  but  in  all  my 
undertakings  had  one  not  been  carried  into  effect — they 
might  suspect  this  to  fail  and  by  a  careful  vote  first  see  my 
money  paid  for  the  Church;  and  if  done  to  Expectations, 
refunded  Part — religious  societys  ought  not  to  grind  their 
Poor  connections  or  liberal  friends. 


1 84          Hegettb*  of  a  J^orrtjern  Count? 

The  Vestry  gave  to  Utica  Church  $2,000.  around  which 
all  the  rich  are  Churchmen — not  so  here — all  the  Rich  are 
presbyterians  and  other  persuasions.  I  wish  you  would 
get  them  to  change  the  business  so  I  can  act  as  with  my 
friends — and  the  church  shall  be  done,  God  willing. 

W 
(unaddressed  copy) 

Lady  Hay  to  Richard  F.  and  Isaac  Cooper 

Quebec — lyth  March — 18010 

Will  the  much  estimated  sons  of  an  invaluable,  lamented 
Friend,  accept  of  the  sincere  condolence  and  unaffected 
sympathy  of  One  who  tho'  not  personally  acquainted  with 
you  is  no  Stranger  to  your  worth — Which  was  the  Theme, 
and  Pride  of  him,  that  swerved  not  from  Truth,  who  it  has 
pleased  Heaven  to  deprive  you  of — Yours  My  Friends,  per- 
mit me  to  rank  you  so,  is  a  loss  in  which  many  will  partici- 
pate, for  universal  philanthropy  and  Benevolence  of  Heart, 
in  continual  exercise  for  the  welfare  of  his  Fellow  creatures, 
were  the  leading  Characteristics  of  your  now  Sainted 
Father — As  to  myself,  much  have  I  been  indebted  to  him 
for  Friendship  and  attention  to  my  Interest,  which  for 
many  years  he  has  been  so  good  as  to  take  charge  of — and 
had  I  been  deprived  of  a  Brother  I  cou'd  not  have  felt  it 
more — Nor  ever,  will  the  recollection  of  his  many  acts  of 
kindness,  be  obliterated  from  my  memory — To  every  In- 
dividual of  your  Family  I  can  never  be  indifferent,  and  beg 
of  you  to  present  me,  as  a  partaker  in  their  Grief  to  your 
respected  Mother  and  Sister,  the  latter  of  whom,  I  have 
understood  to  be  the  amiable  counter-part  of  the  dear  de- 
parted Hannah  Cooper  who  I  had  the  utmost  affection 
for  and  therefore  am  convinced  how  deeply  She  is  afflicted. 
My  Draft,  excuse  my  speaking  upon  Business,  for  Two 


£>ome  Olb  betters  185 

Hundred  Dollars,  was  Protested,  owing  I  suppose  to  the 
Tenant  of  my  House  in  Fair  Street  not  coming  forward  in 
due  time  with  the  quarters  Rent  payable  the  ist  of  Nov. 
but  was  afterwards  paid — and  if  you  will  excuse- the  liberty 
I  take  in  saying,  if  you  wou'd  be  so  very  good  as  to  get 
somebody  in  New  York  to  receive  the  Feb.  Quarter,  I 
should  be  very  much  obliged — The  Tenant  is  Mrs.  Violetta 
Taylor— No.  34  Fair  Street— The  Rent  Five  Hundred  and 
Twenty  five  Dollars  pr.  year — Directing  it,  at  the  same 
time  to  be  mentioned  to  her  the  hope  and  expectation  that 
she  will  be  ready  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  ist  of  May, 
with  the  quarters  Rent  then  due — Soon  after  which  Period 
(My  Husband  having  obtained  a  short  leave  of  absence 
from  his  Regiment  for  the  purpose  of  accompanying  me)  I 
shall  have  the  pleasure  of  calling  upon  you  at  Cooper's  Town, 
in  my  way  to  New  York,  and  conferring  with  you  on  the 
Business,  that  my  late  excellent  Friend  so  kindly  took 
charge  of,  meanwhile  do  me  the  favor  to  believe,  you  nor 
yours,  have  not  a  more  sincere  well-wisher  than — 

ANN  HAY. 

On  the  24th  of  April,  my  Best  of  Friends  sold  for  me 
through  the  Medium  of  Mr.  Leonard  Bleecker  Broker  at 
New  York  Twenty  One  shares  that  I  held  in  the  Bank  of 
Jersey,  and  bought  in  their  stead  Eighteen  Shares  in 
the  Combined  Bank  of  Manhattan  and  Utica — Which  he 
judged  better  for  me  from  it's  being  nearer  Canada,  and 
more  to  my  advantage  from  it's  giving  Surplus  Dividends — 
The  Shares  are  in  the  name  of  your  Father,  and  I  have  his 
acknowledgment  that  they  are  mine — May  I  crave  your 
attention  to  such  Interest  as  may  result  from  it —  But 
as  from  some  particular  reasons,  this  circumstance  has 
been  known  only  to  your  Father,  My  Sister  in  Law  Miss 
Hay,  and  myself  wou'd  wish  it,  if  you  please,  to  rest  con- 


1 86          Hegenbg  of  a  J^ortfjern  Counts 

fidentially  with  his  Successors,  or  shou'd  it  be  too  trouble- 
some to  them,  at  least  until  I  shall  have  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  them — Nevertheless,  as  I  shou'd  be  singularly  obliged 
by  your  taking  the  trouble  to  say  you  have  received  this, 
and  that  you  are  to  be  at  Home  in  the  month  of  May,  I 
shall  consider  it  a  still  further  favor  that  you  only  Notice 
this  last  mentioned  matter  by  Observing  that  you  have  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  the  Trust  reposed  by  me  in 
your  late  most  truly  Good  Father — accept  my  best  apologies 
for  all  this  trouble. — 


The  writer  of  the  foregoing,  Ann  Hay,  was  at  the 
time  Lady  Hay;  she  was  the  daughter  of  Sheffield 
Howard,  a  younger  son  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  who 
married  his  tutor's  sister  and  came  to  New  York. 
Howard  was  a  great  friend  of  Judge  Cooper's  and  be- 
fore his  death  asked  the  Judge  to  care  for  his  daughter. 
She  married  first,  Major  Charles  Bingham,  and  their 
daughter,  Ann  Howard  Bingham,  married  Clement 
Biddle  Penrose. 

Ann  Hay's  correspondence  is  very  amusing  and 
voluminous;  she  devotes  much  thought  to  concealing 
from  her  husbands  the  whereabouts  and  amount  of  her 
property.  She  was  always  in  need  of  money ;  wrote  on 
very  heavy,  fine  paper  with  gilded  edge,  and  with  a 
most  flattering  and  persuasive  pen. 

The  large  number  of  her  letters  which  are  still  among 
Judge  Cooper's  correspondence  almost  justify  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  writer  of  the  following,  which  is  inserted 


g>ome  ©to  Hetter*  187 

here,  out  of  its  chronological  order,  so  as  to  follow  the 
one  letter  of  hers  included  among  those  selected  as  bear- 
ing on  the  early  days  of  Cooperstown  and  its  people : 

J.  H.  Imlay  to  Wm.  Cooper 

Allentown  June  isth,  1805. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND 

Your  favour  of  the  1 8th  ult.  did  not  reach  me  until  a  few 
days  since  owing  to  my  absence  from  home,  dancing  at- 
tendance on  the  long,  troublesome,  vexcatious  and  expensive 
lawsuit  of  my  mothers  before  the  Court  of  Chancery  of  your 
State  which  has  been  sitting  for  sometime  in  New  York — 
It  was  set  down  for  Argument  in  August  last — but  the 
death  of  the  great,  and  good,  and  ever  to  be  lamented 
Hamilton  prevented  the  hearing  then  coming  on —  It  was 
again  set  down  for  argument  about  the  middle  of  May  last, 
and  continued  from  day  to  day,  under  the  hope  and  ex- 
pectation that  it  would  have  a  hearing — when  the  Chan- 
cellor about  loth  inst.  adjourned  the  Court —  So  it  is — 
put  in  the  glorious  uncertainty,  the  abominable  vexcation 
and  procrastination  of  the  law — of  which  prof essionaly  and 
otherwise  I  am  heartily  sick  and  tired —  This  suit  has  now 
in  some  way  or  shape  been  pending  between  8  and  9  years — 
and  has  in  one  way  and  another  cost  upwards  of  $700, 
besides  all  my  trouble,  time  &c.  &c.  and  what  may  be  worse 
than  all  the  rest,  is,  I  fear,  that  the  loss  of  Hamilton,  may 
be  attended  with  a  loss  of  the  cause. 

A  few  days  after  the  receipt  of  your  letter,  I  reed,  one 
from  your  friend  Mrs.  Hay — I  need  not  tell  you  how  cheer- 
fully &  with  what  alacrity  I  shall  attend  to  the  request 
expressed  in  your  letter —  And  make  it  my  particular  and 
personal  business  to  see  the  land — and  obtain  the  best  in- 


1 88         Hegenb*  of  a  J&ortfjern  Count? 

formation,  as  to  the  value  thereof  &  the  terms  of  compromise 
&  settlement — and  advise  her  thereof,  without  delay — 
But  pray,  my  friend,  who  is  this  female  friend  of  yours?  I 
seem  to  have  some  sort  of  recollection  of  her,  but  so  im- 
perfect as  to  amount  to  nothing —  Her  letter  in  every 
respect  does  her  very  great  credit — and  except  the  letters 
of  her,  who  alas!  alas!  is  no  more — whose  hard,  hard  fate 
I  can  never  cease  to  lament — whose  many  excellencies  & 
virtues,  I  delight  to  recollect  &  mention,  and  whose  memory 
I  must  always  cherish  and  love,  it  is  one  of  the  best  letters 
from  a  female,  I  ever  saw —  Independent  of  your  recom- 
mendation, the  letter  of  your  friend  would  secure  to  her  my 
best  services  &  exertions —  The  style  and  manner  of  her 
letter  is  at  once  so  truly  polite,  so  bland,  urbane,  handsome, 
that  I  am  extremely  desirous  to  become  acquainted  with 
and  learn  her  life  history — of  which  last,  I  must  beg  you  to 
inform  me  as  early  as  possible —  These  have  led  me  to 
form  an  opinon  of  her  which  I  have  much  curiosity  to  know 
how  far  it  is  correct —  And  as  I  shall  have  shortly  to  write 

to  Mrs.  H ,  I  should  wish  to  hear  from  you  previous 

thereto —  I  have  not  since  the  summer  of  1800  felt  much 
like  getting  in  love — but  really  the  style  and  manner  of  the 
letter  of  your  friend  are  so  much  like  those  of  her,  whose 
memory  I  have  just  alluded  to,  that  I  am  not  without  much 
admiration,  I  desire  of  an  acquaintance  with  your  friend — 
I  wish  to  write  a  line  to  Richard,  by  our  mail  of  to  day — 
must  therefore  conclude,  with  the  assurances  of  my  affec- 
tionate regards  &  good  will  to  yourself  &  the  family — 
I  am  yours  &c 

J.  H.  IMLAY 
Addressed — 

The  Honble  Judge  Cooper 
Cooperstown 
New  York 


feome  ©to  Hetter*  189 

J.  H.  Imlay  to  R.  F.  Cooper 

Allentown  Febuy  12  1810 
MY  FRIEND 

Not  until  a  short  time  since  did  the  melancholy  intelli- 
gence that  Judge  Cooper  was  no  more  reach  me.  As  a 
friend  from  whom  I  had  reed  many  acts  of  kindness  &  good 
will — and  the  father  of  yourself  and  of  her  whose  memory  I 
yet  love,  and  hold  in  great  veneration  and  affection,  much 
do  I  lament  his  death — and  tenderly  &  sincerely  sympa- 
thize with  yourself  &  family  in  your  affliction  &  bereave- 
ment. 

Said  your  sister  to  me,  in  our  last  walk  along  the  Banks  of 
your  river  on  the  evening  before  I  left  Coopers  Town — as 
passing  by  the  Grave  Yard  in  the  rear  of  your  Father's 
House — "how  long,  think  you,  it  may  be,  ere  myself  or  you 
— and  many  more  of  our  friends,  may  become  inhabitants 
of  that  Mansion" ?  pointing  to  the  Grave  Yard — I  replied — 
"I  hope  long."  "Ah!  no"— she  said— as  to  herself— "it 
will  not  be  long — Some  ten — twenty  or  thirty  years  will 
number  us  all  among  its  inhabitants.  What  an  inch  of 
time — What  a  drop  in  the  great  ocean  of  eternity — " 
Prophetic  words  indeed  as  to  herself  'Tho  sometimes — 

"So  concealed  the  hour  and  remote  the  fear — 
"Death  still  draws  nearer — never  seeming  near" 

and  with  great  truth  does  the  poet  add — 

' '  Great  Standing  miracle !    That  Heaven  assigned ' ' 
"Its  only  thinking  thing,  this  turn  of  mind" 

When  your  feelings  and  convenience  will  permit,  will  you 
oblige  me  with  some  account  of  your  Father's  illness  & 


Hesettb*  of  a  J^ortJjent  Count? 

death — And  accept  for  yourself  &  the  family,  the  unfeigned 
sympathy  and  condolence  of 

Your  friend 

J.  H.  IMLAY 

Richard  F.  Cooper,  Esq., 
Coopers  Town 
New  York 

James  Fenimore  Cooper  to  R.  F.  Cooper 

New  York,  May  i8th,  1810 

I  wrote  you  yesterday,  a  letter  in  a  great  hurry,  as  its 
contents  are  of  some  importance,  I  employ  the  leisure  time 
offered  today,  to  inform  you  more  fully  of  my  views. 

When  you  were  in  the  city,  I  hinted  to  you,  my  intention 
of  resigning  at  the  end  of  this  session  of  congress,  should 
nothing  be  done  for  the  navy — my  only  reason  at  that  time 
was  the  blasted  prospects  of  the  service.  I  accordingly 
wrote  my  resignation  and  as  usual  offer'd  it  to  Capt.  Law- 
rence, for  his  inspection — he  very  warmly  recommended  to 
me  to  give  the  service  the  trial  of  another  year  or  two,  at 
the  same  time  offering  to  procure  me  a  furlough  which 
would  leave  me  perfect  master  of  my  actions  in  the  interval. 
I  thought  it  wisest  to  accept  this  proposition — at  the  end 
of  this  year  I  have  it  in  my  power  to  resign  should  the 
situation  of  the  Country  warrant  it. 

Like  all  the  rest  of  the  sons  of  Adam,  I  have  bowed  to 
the  influence  of  the  charms  of  fair  damsel  of  eighteen.  I 
loved  her  like  a  man  and  told  her  of  it  like  a  sailor.  The 
peculiarity  of  my  situation  occasioned  me  to  act  with  some- 
thing like  precipitancy — I  am  perfectly  confident  however, 
I  shall  never  have  cause  to  repent  of  it.  As  you  are  cooly 
to  decide,  I  will  as  cooly  give  you  the  qualities  of  my  mis- 
tress. Susan  De  Lancey  is  the  daughter  of  a  man  of  very 


g>ome  ©Ib  Hettertf  191 

respectable  connections  and  a  handsome  fortune — amiable, 
sweet  tempered  and  happy  in  her  disposition — She  has 
been  educated  in  the  country,  occasionally  trying  the 
temperature  of  the  City  to  rub  off  the  rust — but  hold  a 
moment,  it  is  enough  she  pleases  me  in  the  qualities  of  her 
person  and  mind.  Like  a  true  Quixotic  lover,  I  made 
proposals  to  her  father — he  has  answered  them  in  the  most 
gentlemanly  manner — You  have  my  consent  to  address  my 
daughter  if  you  will  gain  the  approbation  of  your  mother. 
He  also  informs  me  that  his  daughter  has  an  estate  in  the 
County  of  Westchester  in  reversion,  secured  to  her  by  a 
deed  of  trust  to  him,  and  depend — upon  the  life  of  an  aunt 
Aetat  72 — so  you  see,  Squire,  the  old  woman  cant  weather 
it  long.  I  write  all  this  for  you — you  know  I  am  indifferent 
to  anything  of  this  nature.  Now  I  have  to  request  you 
will  take  your  hat  and  go  to  mother,  the  boys,  girls,  and 
say  to  them  have  you  any  objections  that  James  Cooper 
shall  marry  at  a  future  day,  Susan  de  Lancey — If  any  of 
them  forbids  the  bans  may  the  Lord  have  forgiven  them, 
for  I  never  will.  Then  take  your  pen  and  write  to  Mr. 
De  Lancey  stating  the  happiness  and  pleasure  it  will  give 
all  the  family  to  have  this  connection  completed — all  this  I 
wish  you  to  do  immediately  as  I  am  deprived  of  the  pleasure 
of  visiting  my  flame,  until  this  be  done,  by  that  confounded 
bore  delicacy, — be  so  good  as  to  enclose  the  letter  in  one  to 
me,  at  the  same  time  dont  forget  to  enclose  a  handsome  sum 
to  square  the  yards  here  and  bring  me  up  to  Cooperstown. 
I  wish  not  to  interrupt  you  in  your  attempt  to  clear  the 
estate,  My  expenditures  shall  be  as  small  as  possible. 

Your  Brother 

JAMES  COOPER. 

Richard  Fenimore  Cooper  Esquire 
Cooperstown 
New  York 


192          Hesenb*  of  a  JBtortftern  Count? 

Isaac  Cooper  to  J.  Fenimore  Cooper 

Cooperstown  isth  Dec.  1817 


MY  DEAR  JAS, 

Our  niece  Hannah  Cooper  was  buried  on  Friday  last  after 
an  illness  of  a  fortnight,  a  singular,  as  well  as  a  most  savage 
circumstance  happened  on  that  day.  The  Cary  Family 
came  down  to  attend  the  funeral,  Cornelius,  Eliza,  Richard's 
wife  and  two  blacks,  returned  home  in  the  evening,  the  two 
first  after  having  drank  very  freely  at  Mrs.  Clarkes  stopped 
at  Williams  Tavern  at  Pierstown  and  took  an  additional 
supply,  after  which  Cornelius  took  the  whip  and  reins  out 
of  the  servants  hands  and  undertook  to  drive  himself.  The 
going  being  very  rough  and  icy  and  he  driving  most  furi- 
ously up  hill  &  down,  induced  those  that  were  able,  to  get 
out  of  the  waggon  —  being  Richards  wife  and  the  two  ser- 
vants, leaving  the  other  two  in  the  waggon.  Cornelius 
not  being  sensible  that  any  one  was  left  in  but  himself  con- 
tinued running  his  Horses  full  speed  till  he  reached  home, 
from  habit  he  was  enabled  to  unharness  and  put  his  Horses 
in  the  stable  after  which  he  went  to  bed,  the  rest  of  the 
party  who  got  out,  returned  about  an  hour  after  in  the 
dark,  through  rain  &  mud,  when  inquiry  was  made  fof 
Eliza,  when  upon  search  she  was  found  dead  on  the 
bottom  of  the  waggon,  having  it  is  presumed  fallen 
out  of  her  chair  and  been  jolted  to  death  by  the  rough- 
ness of  the  roads.  As  the  story  goes  Cornelius  when 
informed  of  her  death,  raised  his  head  a  little  from  the 
pillow,  replied  "then  bury  her"  turned  &  took  his  other 
nap. 

Mrs.  Clarke  a  few  days  before  the  death  of  Poor  Hannah 
added  a  daughter  to  that  unfortunate  race.  She  appears 
overwhelmed  with  afflictions.  The  boys  are  here  and  look 
very  well. 


g>ome  ©Ib  ICetterg  193 

Attend  to  the  De  Kalb  affairs.  Danberry  is  quite 
uneasy — but  they  detain  the  papers — 

Sincerely  with  respect  to  wife  & 
and  all  the  family 

I.   COOPER 

Mrs.  Pomeroy  buried  her 

infant  about  three  weeks  ago. 
James  Cooper  Esq. 
Mamaroneck, 

West  Chester  N.  Y. 

Goldsborough  Cooper  to  R.  Cooper 

Hyde  April  15,  1827 

DEAR  DICK 

We  have  had  one  cotillion  party  of  which  she  most  prob- 
ably has  given  you  a  full  description — we  danced  until 
about  three — the  gentlemen  drank  wine  as  usual,  like  studs, 
and  the  girls,  whew!  how  they  did  go  on,  they  put  me  quite 
to  the  blush,  and  in  that  case  you  can  imagine  their  con- 
duct. We  have  had  radishes  and  sallad  for  a  fortnight 
which  I  imagine  is  rather  more  than  you  can  say  of 
gardens  in  Hudson — we  shall  soon  have  cucumbers. 

GOLD. 

Richard  Cooper  Esq. 
Hudson. 

G.  Cooper  to  R.  Cooper 

Hyde:  I  have  forgotten  the  day 
of  the  month  but  look  at  the 
post  mark,  1828 

DEAR  DICK 

Prentiss  is  soon  to  take  for  a  handmaid  Miss  Shankland 
and  we  have  had,  are  having  and  are  about  to  have  an 
13 


194          Hegenb*  of  a  JBtortfjern  Count? 

abundance  of  parties,  glees  and  merry  makings.  I  was  at 
Morehouses  wedding  party  and  at  Judge  Nelsons — and  I 
may  attend  one  or  two  more.  Our  girls,  by  these  I  mean, — 
pooh — you  know  who  I  mean,  look  well,  are  in  fine  spirits, 
step  freely,  and  in  fine  give  every  indication  of  proper 
keeping  and  good  condidion.  .  .  . 
Good  bye 

Your  affec.  Brother 

GOLD 

Richard  Cooper  Esq 
Hudson 

Columbia  Co.  N.  Y. 

The  following  is  an  invitation  to  a  more  formal  entertain- 
ment and  is,  perhaps,  the  first  invitation  to  dine  with  a 
"President  of  the  U.  States"  received  by  a  resident  of  this 
village.  It  is  in  the  ^handwriting  of  G.  Washington  and 
while  undated  as  to  year  was  probably  sent  in  either  1796, 
or  one  of  the  two  following  years. 

"The  President  U.  States 
requests  the  pleasure  of 
Mr.  Cooper's  company  to 
dine  to-day  at  three  o'clock, 
Saturday  26  Nov." 


TODDSVILLE 

WHILE  it  is  not  quite  in  line  with  the  purpose  of  these 
sketches  to  wander  into  the  history  of  the  hamlet  of 
Toddsville,  I  feel  that  anything  bearing  on  the  past 
of  the  County  is  worth  preserving ;  certainly  where  it  is 
as  unique  as  the  recollections  of  a  man  in  his  ninety- 
seventh  year,  born  and  brought  up  and  now  living  in 
that  community,  and  with  an  apparently  unimpaired 
memory.  Such  a  man  is  Samuel  Street  Todd  living  in 
the  little  gothic  cottage  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Oaks 
Creek  and  overlooking  the  picturesque  ruins  of  the  old 
mills  of  Toddsville,  and  within  sight  of  the  four  old 
Todd  houses  built  respectively  about  1792,  1805,  1811, 
and  one  at  a  later  date,  now  unknown. 

Mr.  Todd  is  bent  with  years,  but  clear  of  mind  and 
memory  and  with  a  voice  of  wonderful  power  and  tone ; 
he  is,  according  to  his  doctor,  going  to  round  out  his 
full  century.  To  such  a  man  old  age  can  have  no 
terror. 

I  spent  with  him  two  half  days  and  listened  to  almost 
first-hand  tales  of  the  early  settlement  of  the  country; 
for  remembering  himself  events  back  of  1830,  he  of 

195 


1 96          ICegenbg  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

course  had  heard  at  an  age  when  his  memory  was  most 
receptive,  the  tales  and  experiences  of  his  elders. 

The  settlement  of  Toddsville  was  the  story  of  the 
settlement  of  many  of  the  little  hamlets  of  western  New 
York;  the  millwrights  came  from  New  England. 

Samuel  Todd's  story  was  as  follows:  About  the  be- 
ginning of  the  nineteenth  century  six  brothers,  of  the 
name  of  Todd,  and  one  sister,  came  from  Wallingford, 
Conn.,  to  the  site  of  Toddsville,  where  there  was  a 
water  power  and  a  sawmill.  The  property  belonged 
to  one  Tubbs  who  had  bought  three  hundred  acres 
from  Judge  Cooper  and  built  the  sawmill.  The  Todds 
bought  him  out,  built  a  log  cabin,  and  lived  in  it  and  in 
the  Tubbs  house  which  still  stands  at  the  head  of  the 
Main  Street  of  Toddsville,  facing  south.  They  were  a 
family  of  millwrights  and  of  very  good  New  England 
stock;  there  were  Johiah,  Lemuel,  Caleb,  Zira,  Bethel, 
and  Achel,  and  the  sister,  Augusta.  My  old  friend 
was  Lemuel's  son.  They  developed  the  water  power 
and  built  in  addition  to  the  sawmill,  a  gristmill,  paper 
mill,  and  a  woolen  (knitting)  mill.  They  ran  the  mills  as 
follows:  Lemuel  and  Johiah,  the  gristmill;  Johiah  the 
woolen  mill,  and  Lemuel  the  paper  and  sawmill;  Achel 
was  a  doctor  and  practiced  at  Middlefield  Centre; 
Bethel  went  to  Poultneyville.  I  don't  know  what 
Zira  and  Caleb  did ;  but  Zira  built  in  181 1  the  fine  house 
on  the  west  bank  of  Oaks  Creek  across  from  the  mill 


Cobbstnllc  197 

site  and  lived  in  it;  a  Zira,  or  Ira,  made  mill  stones  at 
Utica  and  went  to  St.  Louis;  Lemuel  lived  in  the  old 
Tubbs  house  and  Johiah  built,  in  1805,  and  lived  in  the 
house  across  the  road  from,  and  east  of  the  mills. 
Caleb's  history  he  did  not  tell  me.  Augusta  married  one 
of  the  Carrs  who  were  grantees  of  an  adjoining  four  hun- 
dred acres ;  she  and  her  husband  lived  in  that  beautiful 
old  field-stone  house  on  the  road  to  Fly  Creek,  dated 
1825. 

Toddsville  flourished  and  grew  into  a  community 
of  some  hundreds,  with  upwards  of  sixty  dwellings, 
churches,  and  shops,  until  modern  competition  and 
transportation  killed  its  mills. 

Samuel  remembers  my  great-grandfather,  Dr. 
Thomas  Fuller,  and  told  with  glee  how,  in  a -particu- 
larly unhealthy  year,  Dr.  Almy  of  Toddsville  "beat" 
him;  I  didn't  like  to  ask  whether  in  deaths  or  cures. 
Dr.  Almy  bought  and  lived  in  Zira  Todd's  house  and 
built  the  remarkable  vault  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  in  his 
meadow,  overlooking  the  field  and  the  Oaks  Creek. 
There,  Samuel  says,  the  doctor  lies  with  his  daughter. 
The  outer  doors  are  ajar  but  held  by  fallen  masonry; 
the  inner  door  of  glass  is  securely  closed.  The  vault 
interested  me,  so  Samuel  told  its  story  as  follows :  Dr. 
Almy,  he  said,  worshipped  it  and  used  to  sit  in  the  door- 
way and  smoke  evenings,  and  sometimes  young  Samuel 
sat  with  him;  Mrs.  Almy  dreaded  it,  and  made  her  son 


198          Hegenb*  of  a  JBtorftern  Count? 

promise  that  if  she  died  first  he  would  after  his  father's 
death,  move  her  body  to  her  family  burying  ground  at 
Sharon ;  this,  in  due  time,  he  did,  and  she  lies  there  with 
the  Mullers. 

We  had  tried  to  get  into  the  vault  and  I  said,  "Some 
night  I  am  coming  over  to  open  it."  After  a  moment's 
hesitation,  old  Samuel  said:  "One  night,  when  I  was 
young,  I  took  a  screw  driver,  got  into  the  vault,  and 
opened  Mrs.  Almy's  coffin.  She  had  been  lying  there 
some  time,  and  her  cheeks  (indicating  with  his  hands) 
were  covered  with  blue  mold!" 

He  said  every  one  in  those  days  went  to  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Coopers  town,  so  when  he  was  old 
enough  to  go  to  church  he  was  taken  there ;  he  described 
the  old  high  pews,  taller  than  he  was,  and  the  two-story 
pulpit.  The  modern  pews  he  spoke  of  contemptu- 
ously as  "slips."  He  knew  where  all  the  old  families 
sat — the  Bowers,  the  Fullers,  the  Prentisses,  etc.,  in- 
cluding the  pew  of  my  grandmother  in  which  I  suffered 
as  a  youth.  He  recalled  Richard  Cooper  and  old 
George  Clarke  and  his  wife,  Ann,  and  about  all  the 
prominent  residents  of  the  village  in  those  days  includ- 
ing my  grandfather. 

It  was  like  looking  through  an  open  window  into  the 
past. 

Years  ago  Charles  W.  Smith,  who  married  one  of  my 
mother's  sisters,  and  lived  to  be  nearly  as  old  a  man  as 


Cobbstotllc  199 

Samuel  Todd,  wrote  out  for  me  a  little  sketch  of  Hope 
Factory,  and  as  it  throws  some  light  on  Toddsville,  I 
quote  from  it. 

"He  (Mr.  Smith's  father)  came  with  others,  in  1806, 
after  acquiring  his  trade,  to  Otsego  County,  New  York, 
and  engaged  in  building  a  cotton  mill  on  the  Oaks  Creek 
at  Toddsville,  called  the  Union  Cotton  Manufactury. 
On  December  21,  1808,  he  was  specially  commissioned 
to  go  east  and  purchase  such  machinery  as  was  re- 
quired for  operating.  Contract  signed  by  Rufus  Steere 
and  Jehial  Todd. 

' '  The  factory  was  built  of  wood  and  burned  not  many 
years  after  and  was  then  replaced  by  one  of  stone. 

"October,  1809,  Mr.  Smith  was  commissioned  by  the 
Union  Cotton  Mac'f'g.  to  build,  manage,  and  carry 
on  a  cotton  mill  at  Hopeville,  having  a  long  ditch  to 
convey  water  from  Oaks  Creek,  nearly  half  a  mile, 
thus  obtaining  a  higher  head  of  water,  more  permanent 
and  admitting  use  of  an  overshot,  instead  of  a  breast 
wheel  for  driving  the  mill.  This  was  to  be  called  Hope 
Factory  after  one  of  that  name  in  Rhode  Island. 

"The  building  was  of  wood  and  was  used  some  fifteen 
years.  Mr.  Smith's  salary  was  fixed  at  $2.00  a  day 
with  firewood  and  pasturage  for  horse  and  cow. 

"September  7,  1824,  anew  mill  of  stone  was  con- 
tracted for,  to  be  erected  a  few  rods  from  the  old  mill- 
by  Lorenzo  Bates,  Contractor.  Stone  from  the  quar- 


200         Eegenb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  County 

ries  of  J.  R.  M.  Mills,  Evander  and  Jared  Ingalls. 
Twelve  hundred  bushels  of  lime  furnished  by  Abram 
Van  Home.  Carpenter  and  joining  work  by  Elisha 
Thorneton  and  George  Morris.  Cost  of  this  building 
was  $12,165.79  ($12,165.79)." 

This  new  mill  of  stone  is  the  Hope  Factory  still 
standing  near  what  is  now  known  as  Index. 

Sometime  after  my  talk  with  old  Samuel  Todd  I  had 
curious  confirmation  of  the  soundness  of  his  memory. 
He  said  that  the  Todd  land  had  come  from  "Fenimore 
Cooper"  and  that  one  Tubbs  had  intervened  between 
William  Cooper  and  their  purchase.  I  doubted  this 
and  attempted  to  convince  him  that  the  land  came  from 
William  through  Tubbs.  In  looking  over  some  old 
papers  I  found  a  contract  of  sale  between  Richard 
Fenimore  Cooper,  the  eldest  son  of  William  Cooper, 
and  Jehiel  Todd  of  Northampton,  Mass.,  dated  Jan- 
uary 22d,  1805,  providing  for  the  conveyance  to  Todd 
of  "All  that  farm  or  tract  of  land  known  as  Tubbs 
Mills"  for  the  sum  of  "Six  thousand  three  hundred  and 
twenty  silver  dollars  of  the  United  States  of  America." 
Other  papers  show  that  the  silver  dollars  were  duly 
paid  and  the  land  conveyed  by  Richard  Fenimore 
Cooper  to  Jehiel.  The  property  must  have  been  a  very 
valuable  one  as  the  amount  paid  in  1805  would  be  the 
equivalent  of  a  sum  perhaps  ten  times  as  great  now. 


JAMES  FENIMORE   COOPER 

PRIOR  to  1883,  Susan  Fenimore  Cooper  repeatedly 
promised  me  to  write  her  recollections  of  her  father, 
for  her  nephews  and  nieces ;  a  promise  which  she  started 
to  fulfill  that  year  by  buying  a  blank  book  and  writing 
an  introductory  note.  She  did  little  more  for  a  number 
of  years,  until  shortly  before  her  death  when  she  began 
seriously  to  write,  but  died  before  she  had  gotten  be- 
yond the  early  years  of  her  life  in  Paris,  about  1827 
or  1828. 

The  following  rather  disconnected  paragraphs  I  have 
selected  to  print  here  as  throwing  an  intimate  light  on 
Fenimore  Cooper's  life  and  character,  which  appears 
nowhere  else,  and  which  ought  to  be  preserved  for  his 
descendants. 

My  first  recollections  of  my  dear  Father  and  Mother  go 
back  to  the  remote  ages  when  we  were  living  at ' '  Fenimore, ' ' 
in  the  farm-house  built  by  your  grandfather.  I  was  then 
about  three  years  old.  Some  incidents  of  that  time  I  re- 
member with  perfect  distinctness,  while  the  intervening 
weeks,  or  months,  are  a  long  blank. 

Occasionally  I  was  taken  to  the  Hall  to  see  my  Grand- 
mother, I  have  a  dim  recollection  of  her  sitting  near  a  little 

201 


202          Hegenfc*  of  a  J^otttjetn  Count? 

table,  at  the  end  of  the  long  sofa  seen  in  her  picture,  with 
a  book  on  the  table.  She  always  wore  sleeves  to  the  elbow, 
or  little  below,  with  long  gloves.  She  took  great  delight  in 
flowers,  and  the  south  end  of  the  long  hall  was  like  a  green- 
house in  her  time.  She  was  a  great  reader  of  romances. 
She  was  a  marvellous  housekeeper,  and  beautifully  nice 
and  neat  in  all  her  arrangements. 

The  old  negro  seen  in  the  picture  of  the  Hall  was  an  im- 
portant personage  in  the  family,  he  lived  with  my  grand- 
parents twenty  years;  his  name  was  Joseph,  but  my  Uncles 
often  called  him  "the  Governor."  As  you  know  he  is 
buried  in  the  family  ground.  His  wife  Harris  married  again 
after  his  death,  and  lies  in  the  Churchyard,  near  the  front 
fence.  My  Grandfather  gave  her  a  house  and  lot,  on  what 
is  now  Pine  Street.  Having  no  children  she  left  that  house 
to  John  Nelson.  Harris  lived,  after  my  Grandmother's 
death,  with  the  Russells. 

The  only  one  of  my  Uncles  of  whom  I  have  any  recollec- 
tion was  my  Uncle  Isaac.  I  remember  him  distinctly  on  one 
occasion,  when  he  was  dining  at  the  farm-house ;  he  took  me 
up  in  his  arms  and  wanted  me  to  kiss  him;  but  I  was  shy 
about  it.  "This  young  lady  does  not  kiss  gentlemen!" 
said  your  grandfather  laughing.  I  seem  to  hear  him  say 
the  words  now,  and  I  also  recollect  wondering  in  an  infantile 
way  what  was  their  meaning.  This  is  my  only  recollection 
of  my  Uncle  Isaac.  My  Mother  was  much  attached  to 
him;  he  was  very  warm-hearted  and  affectionate,  and  very 
benevolent.  On  one  occasion  when  your  Grandfather  was 
in  the  Navy,  he  came  home  on  a  furlough,  and  my  Uncle 
Isaac  gave  a  grand  family  dinner  on  the  occasion.  Your 
Grandfather  would  seem  to  have  been  something  of  a  dandy 
in  those  days,  he  sported  a  queue,  would  you  believe  it! 
Some  of  the  young  naval  officers  at  that  time  followed  the 
fashion  of  Napoleon  and  Nelson,  and  sported  that  ap- 


3Fame#  Jfenimore  Cooper  203 

pendage.  Judge  of  the  excitement  caused  in  the  family, 
and  in  the  village  by  the  midshipman's  pigtail!  He  soon 
threw  it  aside.  But  my  Uncle  Isaac  by  a  successful 
manoeuvre  got  possession  of  it  on  the  day  of  the  dinner 
party,  and  when  the  family  assembled  about  the  table, 
there,  suspended  to  the  chandelier  was  the  young  gentle- 
man's pigtail!  My  Aunt  Pomeroy  told  me  the  incident. 
My  Uncle  Isaac  died  early  in  consequence  of  an  accident. 
He  was  paying  a  visit,  with  my  Aunt  Mary,  to  General 
Morris'  family  at  the  Butternuts,  and  one  day  after  dinner 
was  wrestling  in  fun  with  his  brother-in-law  Richard  Morris, 
when  he  was  thrown  with  some  force  against  the  railing 
of  the  piazza,  injuring  his  spine.  He  lingered  for  a  year 
or  more,  but  abcesses  formed,  and  he  died  at  last  of 
exhaustion. 

My  Mother  always  spoke  kindly  of  her  brothers-in-law. 
My  Uncle  William  was  wonderfully  clever,  quite  a  genius,  a 
delightful  talker,  very  witty.  My  Uncle  Richard  was  a 
handsome  man  with  remarkably  fine  manners;  my  Grand- 
father De  Lancey,  who  had  seen  the  best  society  in  Eng- 
land said  he  was  "a  very  well  bred  man."  He  was  very 
intimate  with  Mr.  Gouldsborough  Banyer,  and  named  his 
eldest  son  after  him.  My  Uncle  Sam  was  clever,  but  under- 
sized, and  eccentric.  My  Mother  has  often  said  they  were 
all  fine  tempered  men. 

There  was  a  romantic  mystery  hanging  over  the  Lake  at 
that  time — a  mysterious  bugle  was  heard  in  the  summer 
evenings,  and  moonlight  nights — now  from  the  Lake,  now 
from  the  wooded  mountain  opposite  "Fenimore."  "  There 
is  the  bugle!"  my  Father  would  call  out,  and  all  the  family 
would  collect  on  the  little  piazza  to  listen.  I  remember 
hearing  the  bugle  frequently,  and  being  aware,  in  a  baby 
fashion,  of  the  excitement  on  the  subject.  No  one  knew 
the  performer.  It  was  some  mysterious  stranger  haunting 


204          Hegente  of  a  J^tottfjern  Count? 

the  mountain  opposite  "Fenimore,"  for  several  months. 
So  my  Aunt  Pomeroy  told  me  in  later  years. 

My  Father  played  the  flute,  in  those  days!  His  flute 
remained  among  the  family  possessions  for  some  years. 

Family  Lake  parties  were  frequent  in  those  days — they 
always  went  to  the  Point,  which  your  Great-Grandfather 
had  selected  for  that  purpose  only  a  few  years  after  the 
village  was  founded. 

My  Aunt  Pomeroy  has  told  me  that  the  first  Lake  party 
she  remembered  took  place  when  she  was  quite  a  young 
girl,  the  Lake  was  almost  entirely  surrounded  with  forest. 
Game  was  still  abundant,  and  on  that  occasion  the  gentle- 
men of  the  party  pursued  and  killed  a  deer  in  the  Lake. 
Bears  and  wolves  were  common  then,  and  panthers  also. 
The  bears  would  lie  dormant  in  the  caves  on  the  hill  sides, 
and  my  Aunt  said  she  had  often  heard  the  wolves  howl  on 
the  ice  in  the  Lake,  in  winter.  The  first  Lake  Party  was 
given  by  my  Grandfather  to  some  friends  from  Philadelphia. 
A  beech-tree  was  chosen,  on  the  Point,  and  the  initials  of 
the  party  carved  on  it.  I  have  seen  the  tree,  and  the  ini- 
tials of  my  Grandfather  and  Grandmother,  W.  C.  and  E.  C., 
cut  in  the  bark.  But  it  has  long  since  vanished. 

About  the  same  time  that  the  first  Lake  party  took  place 
there  was  a  terrific  fire  in  the  forest,  my  Aunt  said  there 
was  a  circle  of  flames  entirely  surrounding  the  Lake,  and 
apparently  closing  in  about  the  village  to  the  southward, 
as  the  woods  came  very  near  the  little  town  at  that  time. 
There  was  serious  alarm  for  a  day  or  two.  At  night  she 
said  the  spectacle  was  very  fine.  But  everybody  was 
anxious.  Happily  a  heavy  rain  quenched  the  flames 
before  they  reached  the  little  village. 

In  winter  there  was  a  great  deal  of  skating.  My  Uncle 
Richard,  and  my  Uncle  William  were  particularly  accom- 
plished in  that  way,  very  graceful  in  their  movements,  and 


Hfame*  Jf  emmore  Cooper  205 

cutting  very  intricate  figures  on  the  ice.  So  I  have  been 
told. 

We  had  not  been  long  at  Mamaroneck  when  a  change  in 
the  family  plans  took  place.  Instead  of  returning  to 
Cooper stown,  after  a  six  months  visit,  it  was  decided  that 
my  father  should  build  a  country-house  on  a  farm  that  was 
destined  for  my  Mother  by  my  Grandfather.  This  farm 
was  on  a  hill  in  Scarsdale,  four  miles  from  Mamaroneck. 
The  question  once  decided  my  Father  went  to  work  with 
his  usual  eagerness  and  in  a  few  months  the  house  was  built, 
and  we  took  possession.  The  farm  was  called  Angevine, 
the  name  of  the  Huguenot  tenants  who  had  preceeded  us. 
The  view  from  the  hill  was  fine,  including  a  long  stretch  of 
the  Sound,  and  Long  Island  beyond.  The  house  consisted 
of  a  centre,  and  two  wings,  one  of  these  was  the  common 
sitting  room,  the  other  was  the  "drawing-room."  Little 
did  my  dear  Father  foresee  when  he  planned  and  built  that 
room,  that  within  its  walls  he  should  write  a  book,  and  be- 
come an  author!  In  general  his  thoughts  seem  to  have 
turned  upon  ships,  and  the  sea,  and  farming,  and  landscape 
gardening.  I  can  remember  trotting  around  after  him 
while  he  was  planning  a  sweep,  and  a  ha-ha  fence, — a 
novelty  in  those  days.  He  set  out  many  trees. 

During  the  winter  after  we  had  taken  possession  there 
was  a  grand  house-warming  party.  As  I  look  back  the 
rooms  seem  to  me  to  have  been  crowded  with  gaily  dressed 
ladies,  and  their  cavaliers.  I  particularly  remember  my 
Aunt  Caroline,  wearing  a  pink  silk  spencer,  and  dancing. 
And  this  was  the  only  occasion  in  which  I  ever  saw  my 
Father  dance. 

My  Father  was  much  interested  in  Agricultural  matters 
in  those  days.  He  belonged  to  the  Ag.  Soc.  of  the  County, 
and  I  remember  the  making  of  a  flag  to  be  hoisted  at  the 
annual  fair;  there  was  a  black  plough,  and  the  words  West 


2o6          Hegente  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

Chester  Agricultural  Society  in  large,  black  letters  on  the 
white  ground,  a  joint  effort  of  genius  on  the  part  of  Father 
and  Mother,  while  two  little  girls  looked  on  in  admiration. 
But  our  Father  figured  also  as  a  military  character  at  that 
time;  Governor  Clinton  made  him  his  aide-de-camp,  with 
the  rank  of  Colonel,  and  more  than  once  we  little  girls  had 
the  pleasure  of  admiring  him  in  full  uniform,  blue  and  buff, 
cocked  hat  and  sword,  mounted  on  Bull-head  before  pro- 
ceeding to  some  review.  He  was  thus  transferred  from  the 
naval  to  the  land  service.  To  the  last  days  of  his  life,  Mr. 
James  de  Peyster  Ogden,  one  of  his  New  York  friends 
never  omitted  giving  him  his  title  of  " Colonel."  He  thus 
became  one  of  the  numerous  army  of  American  Colonels, 
though  not  one  of  the  ordinary  type  certainly. 

He  always  read  a  great  deal,  in  a  desultory  way.  Mili- 
tary works,  travels,  Biographies,  History — and  novels! 
He  frequently  read  aloud  at  that  time  to  my  Mother,  in  the 
quiet  evenings  at  Angevine.  Of  course  the  books  were  all 
English.  A  new  novel  had  been  brought  from  England  in 
the  last  monthly  packet;  it  was  I  think  one  of  Mrs.  Opie's  or 
one  of  that  school.  My  Mother  was  not  well,  she  was  lying 
on  the  sofa,  and  he  was  reading  this  newly  imported  novel 
to  her;  it  must  have  been  very  trashy;  after  a  chapter  or  two 
he  threw  it  aside  exclaiming,  ' '  /  could  write  you  a  better  book 
than  that  myself!"  Our  Mother  laughed  at  the  idea  as  the 
height  of  absurdity — he  who  disliked  writing  even  a  letter, 
that  he  should  write  a  book!  He  persisted  in  his  declara- 
tion however,  and  almost  immediately  wrote  the  first  pages 
of  a  tale,  not  yet  named,  the  scene  laid  in  England,  as  a 
matter  of  course. 

He  soon  became  interested,  and  amused  with  the  under- 
taking, drew  a  regular  plot,  talked  over  the  details  with  our 
Mother,  and  resolved  to  imitate  the  tone,  and  character  of 
an  English  tale  of  the  ordinary  type.  After  a  few  chapters 


jf  emmore  Cooper  207 


were  written  he  would  have  thrown  it  aside,  but  our  dear 
Mother  encouraged  him,  to  persevere,  why  not  finish  it, 
why  not  print  it  ?  This  last  idea  amused  him  greatly.  He 
usually  wrote  in  the  drawing-room,  and  after  finishing  a 
chapter  always  brought  my  Mother  in  to  hear  it.  One 
day  he  left  the  room,  the  door  was  open  and  I  went  in,  and 
retired  under  the  writing-table  which  was  covered  with  a 
cloth,  for  a  play  with  my  doll.  Father  and  Mother  came 
in  together.  I  went  on  playing  quietly  with  my  dolL  The 
reading  of  a  chapter  of  Precaution  began.  This  interested 
me  greatly;  it  was  Chapter  .  Suddenly  I  burst  into 
tears,  and  sobbed  aloud  over  the  woes  of  ....  Father 
and  Mother  were  amazed,  I  was  withdrawn  from  my  tent, 
but  they  could  not  imagine  what  had  distressed  me.  On 
one  of  his  visits  to  New  York,  in  those  days,  my  Father 
bought  a  large  green  port-folio  for  himself,  and  a  red  one 
for  my  Mother.  The  red  one  is  now  among  my  papers,  in 
a  dilapidated  condition. 

When  Precaution  was  completed  we  set  out  for  a  visit 
to  Bedford,  for  the  especial  purpose  of  reading  the  M.S.  to 
the  Jay  family.  My  mother  wished  the  book  to  be  printed, 
my  Father  had  some  doubts  on  the  subject,  and  at  last  it 
was  decided  that  if  his  friends  the  Jays  listened  with  inter- 
est to  the  reading,  the  printing  should  take  place.  Mrs. 
Banyer's  taste  and  judgment  were  considered  of  especial 
importance  in  deciding  a  literary  question.  We  made  the 
little  journey  in  the  gig;  Father,  Mother,  Susie  and  Pre- 
caution. For  my  part  I  greatly  enjoyed  the  visit,  playing 
with  Anna  and  Maria  Jay.  The  reading  went  on  in  the 
parlour,  while  we  little  people  were  in  the  nursery.  Gov- 
ernor Jay,  venerable  in  appearance  as  in  character  was  one 
of  the  audience.  With  his  grand  children  I  used  to  go  up 
and  kiss  him  for  good-night,  every  evening.  The  audience 
approved,  although  only  one  or  two  knew  the  secret  of  the 


208  Itegente  of  a  Jlorrtjern  Count? 

authorship;  the  M.S.  was  supposed  to  be  written  by  a  friend 
of  my  Father.  There  was  a  Miss  McDonald,  a  friend  of 
the  Jays  staying  with  them  at  the  time,  she  declared  the 
book  quite  interesting,  but  it  was  not  new,  "I  am  sure  I 
have  read  it  before,"  she  declared — this  the  author  con- 
sidered as  a  complimentary  remark,  as  he  aimed  at  close 
imitation  of  the  Opie  School  of  English  novels.  Bedford 
was  at  that  time  a  delightful  house  to  visit  at,  child  as  I  was 
it  made  this  impression  on  me.  My  Father  and  Judge  Jay 
were  always  very  intimate,  they  had  been  school-boys  to- 
gether. Mrs.  Banyer  was  also  a  warm  friend  of  my  parents. 
Her  husband  Mr.  Gouldsborough  Banyer  had  been  an 
intimate  friend  of  my  Uncle  Richard  Cooper;  Mrs.  Ban- 
yer's  wedding  trip  was  to  Cooperstown,  and  she  always 
spoke  with  pleasure  and  interest  of  her  visit  to  the  old 
Hall;  the  view  of  the  Lake  she  declared  to  be  lovely  from 
the  house  at  that  time. 

When  Precaution  was  published  some  months  later,  it 
was  generally  supposed  to  have  been  written  in  England, 
and  by  a  lady.  Many  persons  thought  it  was  written  by 
Miss  Anne  De  Lancey,  my  Mother's  sister,  who  afterwards 
married  Mr.  John  Loudon  McAdam,  the  great  engineer  of 
roads.  This  sister  my  Mother  had  never  seen !  When  my 
grand-parents  returned  to  America  after  the  Revolution, 
their  eldest  child  was  left  in  England  with  her  Uncle  and 
Aunt,  Judge  and  Mrs.  Jones;  Judge  Jones  was  the  brother 
of  my  grandmother,  he  took  the  name  of  Jones  from 
,  he  was  born  a  Floyd.  Mrs.  Jones  was  my 
grandfather's  sister,  Miss  Anne  De  Lancey.  They  were 
both  great  Tories,  and  could  not  be  induced  to  return  to 
America,  and  begged  that  their  little  niece  might  be  left 
with  them  for  a  time  at  least.  So  the  child  was  left  with 
them,  and  my  grand-parents  sailed  with  their  little  boy 
Thomas,  and  his  nurse,  "Nanny" — our  dear  old  Nanny  of 


Sterne*  Jf  emmore  Cooper  209 

later  days.  My  Grandfather  considered  himself  an  Amer- 
ican, not  an  Englishman,  and  now  that  the  war  was  over 
decided  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  his  native  country.  They 
lived  in  New  York  for  a  time,  at  the  City  Hotel,  which 
belonged  to  my  Grandfather.  When  we  were  living  in  the 
Rue  St.  Dominique  at  Paris,  one  of  our  opposite  neighbors 
was  the  due  de  Valmy,  Gen.  Kellerman;  he  one  day  asked 
my  Father  if  he  had  ever  known  a  Madame  de  Land,  in 
New  York,  remarking  that  he  had  spent  some  time  at  the 
City  Hotel,  and  there  became  acquainted  with  M.  and  Mme. 
de  Lance,  the  lady  he  said  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
women  he  had  ever  seen.  My  Aunt  Anne  grew  up  a  fierce 
Tory,  and  after  the  death  of  her  Uncle  and  Aunt  Jones,  could 
never  be  induced  to  come  to  America,  which  was  a  great 
grief  to  my  grand-parents.  She  was  now  credited  with 
writing  Precaution,  a  book  it  was  said,  clearly  written  in 
England,  and  by  a  woman ! 

Precaution  having  been  quite  as  successful  as  he  expected 
the  writer  now  planned  another  book.  It  was  to  be 
thoroughly  American,  the  scene  laid  in  West-Chester  Co. 
during  the  Revolution.  An  anecdote  which  Governor 
Jay  had  told  him  relating  to  a  spy,  who  performed  his 
dangerous  services  out  of  pure  patriotism,  was  the  founda- 
tion of  the  new  book. 

My  Father  never  knew  the  name  of  the  Spy;  Governor 
Jay  felt  himself  bound  to  secrecy  on  that  point.  But  he 
never  for  a  moment  believed  that  Enoch  Crosby  was  the 
man.  Various  individuals,  twenty  years  later,  claimed  to 
have  been  the  original  Harvey  Birch.  One  man  even  asserts 
that  Mr.  Cooper  used  to  visit  at  his  house  frequently,  for 
the  purpose  of  hearing  his  adventures  and  then  writing 
them  out  in  the  Spy.  This  is  utterly  false.  From  only 
one  person  did  my  Father  ever  receive  any  information 
connected  with  the  life  of  the  Spy  who  was  the  dim  original 

14 


210  Hegenb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

of  Harvey  Birch,  and  that  person  was  Governor  Jay.  The 
conversation  on  the  piazza  at  Bedford  relating  to  the  patriot 
spy  occurred  a  long  time  before  my  Father  dreamed  of 
writing  a  book. 

When  he  had  fully  made  up  his  mind  to  write  a  novel 
entirely  American,  whose  scene  should  be  laid  in  West 
Chester  during  the  Revolution,  he  amused  himself  by  going 
among  the  old  farmers  of  the  neighborhood  and  hearing 
all  the  gossip  of  those  old  times,  about  the  "Neutral 
Ground"  on  which  we  were  then  living,  the  ground  between 
the  English  in  New  York,  and  American  forces  northward. 
Frequently  he  would  invite  some  old  farmer  to  pass  the 
evening  in  the  parlour  at  Angevine,  and  while  drinking  cider 
and  eating  hickory  nuts,  they  would  talk  over  the  battle  of 
White  Plains,  and  all  the  skirmishes  of  the  Cow-Boys  and 
Skinners.  Many  such  evenings  do  I  remember,  as  I  sat  on 
a  little  bench  beside  my  Mother,  while  Uncle  John  Hatfield, 
or  George  Willis,  or  one  of  the  Cornells  related  the  stir- 
ring adventures  of  those  days  of  the  Revolution.  There 
was  a  shallow  cave  in  the  rocky  ledge  on  the  road  to  Mama- 
roneck  where  a  Tory  spy  had  been  concealed,  and  was 
stealthily  fed  for  some  time.  And  on  the  road  to  New 
Rochelle  there  was  a  grove  where  a  sharp  skirmish  had 
taken  place,  it  was  called  the  Haunted  Wood — Ghosts  had 
been  seen  there !  The  cave  and  the  grove  were  full  of  tragic 
interest  to  me,  whenever  we  passed  them. 

Every  chapter  of  the  Spy  was  read  to  my  Mother  as  soon 
as  it  was  written,  and  the  details  of  the  plot  were  talked 
over  with  her.  From  the  first  months  of  authorship,  to  the 
last  year  of  his  life,  my  Father  generally  read  what  he  wrote 
to  my  Mother. 

The  Spy  when  it  appeared  was  brilliantly  successful. 
Never  before  had  an  American  book  attained  anything 
like  the  same  success. 


3F ameg  Jf  emmore  Cooper  2 1 1 

During  those  years  at  Angevine  our  education  began. 
Our  dear  Mother  was  our  Governess,  and  from  time  to 
time  our  Father  examined  us.  We  were  "in  school"  two 
hours,  the  three  elder  ones,  Susie,  Cally  and  Charley,  sitting 
round  our  Mother  in  the  parlour,  or  dining-room,  while  the 
author  and  the  Spy  were  occupying  the  drawing-room. 
Charley  could  read  when  she  was  three  years  old.  There 
was  spelling,  and  writing,  and  arithmetic,  and  geography, 
and  Mrs.  Trimener's  Bible  Lessons,  and  the  History  of 
England.  Well  do  I  remember  those  school  hours.  Our 
precious  Mother  was  so  loving  and  patient  with  us.  I  seem 
to  hear  her  sweet  musical  voice  now  as  she  talked  with  us. 
She  had  a  remarkably  sweet  voice  in  conversation;  my 
friend  Mrs.  Hamilton  Fish  said  to  me  one  day  years  ago, 
"I  always  thought  that  when  novelists  spoke  of  the  musical 
voices  of  their  heroines  in  conversation  it  was  pure  romance, 
but  Mrs.  Cooper's  voice  is  melody  itself." 

Meanwhile  writing  was  going  on.  The  printing  would 
seem  to  have  been  a  slower  business  than  it  is  to-day.  The 
new  book  was  to  give  a  picture  of  American  life  in  a  new 
settlement,  shortly  after  the  Revolution,  and  the  scene  was  laid 
at  Cooperstown,  on  Lake  Otsego.  Some  of  the  characters 
were  drawn  from  real  life,  but  the  plot  was  purely  fiction. 
Monsieur  Le  Quoi,  Major  Hartman,  Ben  Pump  were  actual 
colonists  on  Lake  Otsego.  Natty  Bumppo  was  entirely 
original,  with  the  exception  of  his  leathern  stockings,  which 
were  worn  by  a  very  prosaic  old  hunter,  of  the  name  of 
Shipman,  who  brought  game  to  the  Hall.  Mr.  Grant  was 
not  Father  Nash. 

The  house  your  Grandfather  had  rented  was  one  of  two 
recently  built  by  the  Patroon,  on  Broadway,  just  above 
Prince  Street.  It  was  then  almost ' '  out  of  town. ' '  Directly 
opposite  to  us  was  a  modest  two  story  house  occupied  by 
John  Jacob  Astor.  Niblo's  Gardens  now  occupys  the  site 


212         Hesente  of  a  Jlortfjern  County 

of  the  house  in  which  we  lived.  Not  far  above  us  was  the 
very  grand  " Gothic  edifice"  St.  Thomas  Church,  considered 
an  architectural  gem  in  those  days  I  Next  door  to  us  was  a 
Boarding  School,  one  of  the  best  in  New  York,  the  principal 
was  Mrs.  Isabella  Holt.  Here  Cally  and  I  became  pupils. 
There  were  some  very  nice  girls  in  the  school,  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Fish,  Miss  Rutgers,  Miss  Morewood,  all  older  than  we 
were,  and  the  Langdons,  grand-daughters  of  Mr.  Astor 
who  were  about  our  age.  Here  we  sat  with  our  feet  in  the 
stocks — here  I  became  very  intimate  with  the  Kings  of 
Egypt,  and  the  great  men  of  Greece.  Here  if  we  were  dis- 
orderly, or  our  nails  were  not  properly  cleaned  we  were 
obliged  to  wear  a  real  pig's-foot  tied  around  our  neck !  One 
tragic  morning  Miss  Morewood,  the  oldest  girl,  eighteen, 
and  a  perfect  pupil,  left  her  work  lying  about,  and  was 
condemned  to  wear  the  pig's  foot !  Mrs.  Holt  shed  a  tear, 
Miss  Morewood  wept,  and  I  fancy  we  all  cried — but  stern 
justice  was  administered — the  pig's  foot  was  worn  by  the 
model  pupil !  These  young  ladies  often  were  escorted  from 

school  by  their  beaux.     Miss  Rutgers,  now  Mrs. ,  and  a 

grandmother  has  been  in  Cooperstown  lately.  On  one 
occasion  I  was  told  to  write  a  composition  on  the  difference 
between  the  characters  of  Washington  and  Franklin — 
your  Grandfather  no  sooner  learned  the  subject  allotted  to 
me,  than  he  took  his  hat,  walked  in  to  Mrs.  Holt's  and 
remonstrated  on  the  folly  of  giving  such  a  task  to  a  child  of 
nine.  That  composition  was  never  written. 

In  those  days  your  Grandfather  saw  frequently  many 
officers  of  the  army,  and  navy.  I  remember  on  one  occa- 
sion his  bringing  General  Scott  home  to  dinner,  and  my 
amazement  at  his  great  height — as  he  stood  at  the  window 
he  looked  out  of  the  upper  sash.  Your  Grandfather  was 
also  partial  to  the  society  of  artists,  all  painters,  there  was 
no  American  sculptor  in  those  days.  Mr.  Dunlap,  and 


Jf  emmore  Cooper  2 1 3 

Mr.  Cole,  I  remember  especially.  I  remember  being  taken 
to  see  a  picture  of  great  size,  Death  on  the  White  Horse, 
painted  by  Mr.  Dunlap.  It  was  about  this  time  that  my 
Father  planned  and  founded  a  Club  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  of  the  "Lunch."  It  met  every  Thursday  evening,  I 
think  at  the  house  of  Abigail  Jones,  a  coloured  cook  famous 
at  that  day,  who  kept  the  Delmonico's  of  that  date.  Most 
of  the  prominent  men  of  ability  and  character  in  New  York 
belonged  to  the  club,  which  also  through  its  members,  in- 
vited strangers  of  distinction.  Conversation  was  the  ob- 
ject, I  do  not  think  there  was  any  card-playing.  The 
evening  closed  with  a  good  supper,  one  of  the  members 
being  caterer  every  Thursday,  while  Abigail  Jones  carried 
out  the  programme  to  perfection  in  the  way  of  cook- 
ing. Your  Grandfather,  when  caterer,  wore  a  gilt  key  at 
his  buttonhole.  He  was  very  social  in  his  tastes  and 
habits,  and  full  of  spirited  conversation,  and  delighted  in 
these  lunch  meetings.  Officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  the 
prominent  Clergy,  Lawyers,  Physicians,  Merchants,  &c., 
&c.,  belonged  to  the  Club.  Bishop  Hobart  was  a  frequent 
guest. 

In  the  following  spring  we  moved  to  Beach  Street,  near 
Greenwich  Street,  to  a  house  belonging  to  our  Mother's 
cousin  Henry  Floyd  Jones  of  Fort  Neck.  He  and  my 
Father  were  very  intimate.  Several  years  before  her  mar- 
riage your  Grandmother  came  near  losing  her  life  from  this 
cousin's  carelessness.  He  was  staying  at  Heathcote  Hill  and 
taking  up  a  gun — there  were  always  several  in  the  gun-rack 
in  the  hall — he  aimed  it  at  his  cousin  Susan,  threatening  to 
shoot  her.  The  gun  was  loaded — he  had  believed  it  unloaded 
— the  full  charge  of  shot  went  into  the  wall,  very  near  my 
Mother's  head,  as  she  stood  within  a  few  feet  of  her  cousin. 
Cousin  Henry  was  almost  distracted  at  the  thought  of  the 
risk  she  had  run.  It  was  a  rule  of  my  Grandfather's  that 


214          Eegettb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

every  gun  carried  by  the  sportsmen,  should  be  discharged 
before  it  was  brought  into  the  house.  But  on  that  occasion 
the  rule  had  been  carelessly  broken. 

One  day,  as  I  was  sitting  near  my  Mother  your  Grand- 
father came  into  the  room,  with  the  Cooperstown  paper 
in  his  hand,  and  without  speaking  pointed  out  a  passage  to 
her,  and  then  left  the  room.  My  dear  Mother  looked  sad. 
It  was  the  burning  of  the  house  at  Fenimore  which  was  re- 
ported in  the  Freeman's  Journal.  The  stone  house  was 
very  nearly  finished,  and  was  valued  at  $3500.  There  were 
many  incendiary  fires  in  Cooperstown  at  that  time,  all 
contrived  it  was  said  by  one  unprincipled  man.  Your 
Grandfather  soon  after  sold  the  property  at  Fenimore. 

One  day,  at  a  dinner-party  at  Mr.  Wilkes'  the  recently 
published  novel  "by  the  author  of  Waverly,"  the  Pirate, 
was  the  subject  of  conversation.  Several  of  the  party  in- 
sisted that  the  book  could  not  have  been  written  by  a  lands- 
man. Your  Grandfather  thought  differently,  and  declared 
that  a  sailor  would  have  been  more  accurate,  and  made 
more  of  the  nautical  portions  of  the  book.  No  one  agreed 
with  him ;  they  thought  that  great  skill  had  been  shown  by 
merely  touching  on  the  sea  passages,  to  have  enlarged  them 
would  have  ruined  the  book :  "Impossible  to  interest  the 
reader  deeply  in  a  novel  where  the  sea  was  introduced  too 
freely."  Your  Grandfather  declared  that  a  novel  where  the 
principal  events  should  pass  on  the  Ocean,  with  ships  and 
sailors  for  the  machinery  might  be  made  very  interesting. 
There  was  a  general  outcry.  Mr.  Wilkes  himself  a  man  of 
literary  tastes,  and  very  partial  to  your  Grandfather,  shook 
his  head  decidedly.  Nevertheless  at  that  very  moment 
the  author  of  the  Spy  resolved  to  write  a  clearly  nautical 
novel.  On  his  way  home  he  sketched  the  outline,  and  ar- 
rived at  his  house  told  your  Grandmother  of  his  plan.  He 
always  talked  over  his  literary  plans  with  her.  The  Pilot 


STame*  Jfenfatore  Cooper  215 

was  soon  commenced,  and  when  published  proved  bril- 
liantly successful. 

Our  cousin  Gouldsborough  Cooper,  my  Uncle  Richard's 
eldest  son,  paid  us  a  visit  during  the  winter.  Officers  of  the 
Army  and  Navy,  Artists,  and  literary  men,  were  frequently 
at  the  house.  I  particularly  remember  Mr.  Bryant,  Mr. 
Halleck,  and  Mr.  Perceval  the  poet,  as  guests  at  dinner. 
Also  Mr.  Cole  the  artist.  Dr.  DeKay  was  also  a  frequent 
companion  of  your  Grandfather's.  Mr.  Gilbert  Saltonstall 
a  college  companion  of  your  Grandfather's,  whose  home 
was  in  New  England  staid  at  the  house  repeatedly;  he 
was  a  very  clever  man.  On  one  occasion  when  Lieutenant 
Commander  Shubrick  was  going  away  after  passing  a 
week  or  two  with  us,  he  proposed  to  my  little  sister 
Fanny  to  go  with  him;  she  was  all  ready  for  the 
elopement,  trotted  upstairs,  put  together  a  few  articles  of 
her  wardrobe,  tied  them  up  in  a  handkerchief,  and  trotted 
down  to  the  parlour  all  ready  for  the  journey;  Captain 
Shubrick  was  delighted  with  her  readiness  to  go  with  him 
and  frequently  alluded  to  it  in  later  years. 

With  the  spring  came  another  movement  to  the  country. 
This  time  to  Hallett's  Cove,  to  a  farm  house  belonging  to 
Col  Gibbs,  a  friend  of  my  Father,  whose  fine  house  and 
grounds  were  close  at  hand.  The  place  was  called  Sunswick 
and  was  opposite  Blackwell's  Island.  It  was  thoroughly 
country  then,  with  only  an  occasional  farm  house  in  the 
neighborhood.  We  had  a  beautiful  little  cow,  "Betty," 
and  a  farm  waggon,  with  black  horses,  in  which  my  Father 
drove  us  about.  He  frequently  took  us  to  a  pleasant  sandy 
beach,  where  we  children  picked  up  many  pretty  shells,  and 
where  we  all  bathed.  There  was  a  wooded  point  at  one 
end  of  the  beach  where  we  loitered  in  shade,  enjoying  the 
breeze.  A  few  years  later  Dr.  Muhlenberg  built  his  College 
on  that  point.  Sunswick  is  now  the  city  of  Astoria ! 


2i6          Hegettbg  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

Our  Father  had  a  little  sloop  of  his  own,  anchored  at  the 
wharf,  near  the  house ;  he  called  it  the  Van  Tromp,  and  went 
to  New  York  in  it  almost  daily.  Frequently  I  went  with 
him,  resting  until  the  turn  of  the  tide,  at  Mr.  Wiley's  book- 
store. Was  this  in  Wall  St.?  I  remember  distinctly  the 
abominable  taste  of  the  water,  brought  to  me  when  I  was 
thirsty,  from  a  pump  in  the  street.  For  many  years  longer 
New  Yorkers  drank  only  very  unpleasant  water  from  the 
street  pumps. 

In  the  autumn  a  grand  event  occurred.  The  completing 
of  the  Erie  Canal.  There  was  a  great  procession  in  New 
York,  which  we  saw  from  the  windows  of  345  Greenwich 
St.  Every  trade  was  represented  in  the  line,  with  appro- 
priate banners,  and  devices.  One  carriage  in  passing  our 
house  made  an  especial  demonstration;  it  contained  gentle- 
men, several  of  whom  had  on  the  ends  of  their  uplifted  canes 
slices  of  bread  and  cheese,  members  of  Father's  Club,  the 
Lunch,  no  doubt. 

Our  Father  after  winding  up  his  business  in  New  York, 
went  to  Washington,  in  company  with  the  Prince  of  Canino, 
Charles  Bonaparte,  the  celebrated  naturalist  with  whom  he 
was  quite  intimate.  While  he  was  in  Washington  Mr.  Clay 
offered  him  the  position  of  Minister  to  Sweden,  but  he  did 
not  wish  to  be  tied  to  a  diplomatic  life.  He  preferred  a 
Consulship,  as  he  wished  to  remain  identified  with  the  coun- 
try, and  thought  that  position  would  be  a  protection  to  his 
family  in  case  of  troubles  in  Europe.  The  chief  object  in 
his  going  to  Washington  was  to  see  more  of  a  large  deputa- 
tion of  Indian  chiefs,  from  the  Western  tribes,  of  whom  he 
had  seen  much  while  they  were  in  New  York.  He  had  be- 
come much  interested  in  them,  and  studied  them  closely. 
They  were  chiefly  Pawnees  and  Sioux,  and  among  them  was 
Petelasharoo,  a  very  fine  specimen  of  a  warrior,  a  remark- 
able man  in  every  way.  The  army  officers  in  charge  of  this 


Jfenimore  Cooper  217 

deputation  told  him  many  interesting  facts  connected  with 
those  tribes.  He  had  already  decided  upon  a  new  romance, 
connected  with  the  mounted  tribes  on  the  Prairies. 

The  ist  of  June,  1826,  the  author  of  the  Spy  embarked  in 
the  good  ship  Hudson,  with  all  his  family,  including  his 
nephew  William,  the  son  of  his  brother  William,  whom  he 
had  adopted.  We  were  five  weeks  at  sea,  landing  at  Cowes, 
in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  on  the  4th  of  July. 

One  day  as  we  went  home,  our  dear  Mother  said,  "Who 
do  you  suppose  has  been  here  this  morning?  Sir  Walter 
Scott ! "  Sir  Walter  had  just  arrived  in  Paris,  seeking  ma- 
terials for  his  Life  of  Napoleon.  It  w  as  very  kind  in  him  to 
call  on  your  Grandfather  so  soon.  They  had  some  interest- 
ing interviews. 

The  same  morning  General  Lafayette  made  a  long  call  on 
my  Father.  But  that  was  a  common  occurrence. 

While  Sir  Walter  Scott  was  in  Paris  the  Princess  Galitzin 
gave  him  a  very  grand  reception.  It  was  a  great  event  of 
the  winter,  all  the  fashionable  people  of  Paris  were  there. 
Sir  Walter  says  in  his  diary,  "the  Scotch  and  American 
lions,  took  the  field  together."  But  of  course  Sir  Walter 
was  the  lion  in  chief.  All  the  ladies  wore  Scotch  plaids  as 
dresses,  scarfs,  ribbons,  &c.,  &c. 

The  Princess  Galitzin  was  an  elderly  lady,  very  clever,  a 
very  kind  friend  of  your  Grandfather  and  Grandmother  and 
a  great  writer  of  notes,  full  of  the  eloquence  du  billet,  but  in 
the  most  crabbed  of  handwriting.  She  had  a  married 
daughter,  and  a  married  son  living  in  Paris  at  that  time. 
Her  daughter-in-law,  the  Princess  Marie  was  a  charming 
young  lady,  sweet  and  gentle  though  the  daughter  of  that 
rough  old  hero  Marshall  Suwarrow  who  when  needing  rest, 
took  off  his  spurs  on  going  to  bed.  Madame  de  Zerze",  the 
Princess'  daughter,  gave  a  brilliant  child's  party,  to  which 
we  four  little  sisters  were  invited.  Your  father,  my  dear 


218          Hegenb*  of  a  jBtortfjern  Count? 

Jim,  had  not  yet  put  on  his  dancing  shoes.  Another  child's 
party,  a  very  brilliant  affair,  I  remember,  given  by  Madame 
de  Vivien  for  her  grand-daughters  Mesdemoiselles  de 
Lostange.  The  whole  Hotel  was  open,  and  brilliantly 
lighted,  and  a  company  of  cuirassiers  in  full  uniform  were 
on  guard  in  the  court,  and  adjoining  street,  to  keep  order 
among  the  coachmen  and  footmen.  That  was  the  most 
brilliant  affair  of  the  kind  that  I  ever  attended  in  my 
childish  days. 

A  naval  officer,  formerly  his  commander  when  he  was 
stationed  on  Lake  Ontario,  Captain  Woolsey  was  a  frequent 
companion  of  my  Father  during  the  first  winter  at  Paris. 
They  one  day  undertook  to  walk  around  the  outer  walls 
of  Paris,  and  accomplished  the  feat  successfully.  The 
distance  was,  I  think,  eighteen  miles. 

John  Bull  was  very  civil  to  your  Grandfather,  so  far  as 
London  Society  went.  He  dined  with  prominent  M.  P.s, 
prominent  Peers,  and  even  with  Cabinet  Ministers.  He 
soon  became  quite  intimate  with  Mr.  Rogers  the  Poet,  they 
were  much  together,  and  enjoyed  each  other's  society.  Mr. 
Rogers  was  very  clever,  and  witty,  and  had  a  charming 
bijou  of  a  house,  full  of  curiosities ;  in  his  dining  room  was  a 
mahogany  side  board  made  for  him  by  a  journey  man  cab- 
inet maker,  later  the  celebrated  sculptor  Chantrey! 

In  the  month  of  July  1828,  just  two  years  after  we  en- 
tered Paris,  we  took  leave  of  our  dear  Governesses,  and  school 
friends  in  the  Rue  St.  Maur,  and  set  out  in  a  roomy  family 
carriage,  coachman's  box  in  front,  rumble  behind,  with  our 
faces  towards  Switzerland  and  Italy.  We  travelled  post, — 
much  the  pleasantest  of  all  modes  of  travelling.  No  doubt 
the  palace  cars  of  the  present  day  are  very  grand  and 
luxurious;  but  grandeur  and  luxury  often  leave  much  real 
pleasantness  out  of  sight.  The  postillions  were  very  comi- 
cal in  appearance,  wearing  huge  clumsy  boots,  that  covered 


jfentmore  Cooper  219 


their  entire  legs,  and  were  stuffed  with  straw  !  Occasionally 
we  were  treated  to  ropes  in  the  harness.  My  father  often 
sat  on  the  coachman's  box,  and  I  well  remember  his  delight 
at  the  first  sight  of  Mt.  Blanc,  like  a  brilliant  white  cloud, 
sixty  miles  away!  He  stopped  the  carriage,  and  invited 
my  dear  mother  to  take  a  seat  beside  him.  He  was  also  in 
a  state  of  toosey  moosey  over  the  mists  which  clung  to  the 
Jura  mountains,  after  we  had  once  entered  Switzerland. 
We  were  soon  settled  in  a  pleasant  country  house  near 
Berne,  la  Lorraine,  which  had  been  recently  occupied  by  the 
ex-king  of  Holland,  Louis  Buonaparte,  after  the  crown  had 
fallen  from  his  head,  —  as  all  Napoleon's  crowns  were 
doomed  to  fall.  It  was  a  very  simple  house,  with  deal 
floors,  a  stiff  little  garden  in  front,  with  a  stiff  little  foun- 
tain, quite  waterless,  as  its  sole  ornament.  But  Oh  the 
sublime  view  of  the  Alps  from  the  windows  —  the  whole 
range  of  the  Oberland  Alps,  so  grand  beyond  description, 
so  beautiful  beyond  description,  and  constantly  varying 
in  their  grandeur,  and  their  beauty.  In  the  rear  of  the 
house  was  a  natural  terrace  where  all  walked  almost  every 
evening,  parents  and  children,  enjoying  the  noble  view.  It 
was  on  that  terrace  that  my  father  taught  Paul  to  fly  his 
first  kite,  which  he  had  made  for  him.  Farmer  Walther 
who  had  charge  of  the  property  had  many  interesting  talks 
with  his  tenant  on  subjects  political,  and  military;  he  was 
very  indignant  at  the  robbery  of  the  Treasury  of  the  Can- 
ton of  Berne  by  one  of  Napoleon's  Marshals.  But  then 
Napoleon  while  grand  in  other  ways,  was  grand  also  at 
Robbery.  Of  course  we  made  acquaintance  with  the  Bears 
of  Berne  in  their  fosse.  I  doubt  if  many  travellers  enjoyed 
Switzerland  more  then  your  Grandfather  did,  he  was  in  a 
perpetual  state  of  toosey  moosey,  over  the  grand,  and  the 
beautiful  in  that  Alpine  region.  He  made  many  excursions 
among  the  mountains,  alone  with  guide  and  Alpenstock, 


220  Hegente  of  a  JBtortfcern  Count? 

with  William,  or  occasionally  in  a  carriage  with  my  dear 
mother,  William  and  myself.  There  were  very  few  Amer- 
icans travelling  in  Switzerland  in  those  years.  Only  two 
came  to  Berne  during  the  summer  we  passed  there,  Mr. 
Ray,  and  Mr.  Low,  of  New  York. 

In  October  we  took  a  sentimental  leave  of  la  Lorraine, 
and  moved  southward  to  Florence.  We  travelled  Vet- 
turino  in  the  family  cale'che,  with  four  fine  horses,  and  a 
fine  old  cuirassier  of  Napoleon's  wars  for  postillion,  followed 
by  a  fourgon  which  carried  our  baggage,  and  had  a  hooded 
seat  in  front,  occupied  by  William  and  Paul's  nurse.  The 
fourgon  had  only  two  horses,  and  a  subaltern,  Caspar,  for  a 
postillion.  We  crossed  the  Simplon  before  the  snow  fell. 
Your  Grandfather  was  much  interested  in  the  great  en- 
gineering work  of  Napoleon,  which  crossed  the  Simplon 
with  such  a  fine  broad  road. 

We  were  soon  in  Italy,  dear  delightful  Italy.  We  paid 
our  homage  to  the  beautiful  Cathedral  at  Milan,  paid  our 
respects  to  San  Carlo  Borromeo,  and  the  Lago  Maggiore, 
halted  for  a  day  or  two  at  Bologna,  crossed  the  Appenines, 
and  were  soon  at  the  gates  of  Florence.  Your  Grandfather 
fell  in  love  with  Italy  at  first  sight.  And  it  was  a  love  which 
lasted  through  his  lifetime.  For  Switzerland  he  had  a 
great  admiration ;  for  Italy  he  had  a  warm  affection,  which 
neither  beggars,  nor  bandits  could  chill.  The  very  atmos- 
phere of  Italy  was  a  delight  to  him. 

We  were  soon  provided  with  a  home  of  our  own  in 
Florence. 


I  am  adding  to  these  recollections  the  following 
verses,  to  preserve  them  and  what  is  known  of  their 
history.  Years  ago  I  found  the  unsigned  and  undated 


3fameg  Jfemmore  Cooper  221 

manuscript  among  my  grandfather's  papers;  it  was  in 
his  handwriting  but  bore  nothing  to  identify  the  writer, 
or  the  name  of  the  friend  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  We 
concluded  that  it  was  written  by  him  and  thought 
that  possibly  it  was  on  the  death  of  his  Secretary 
William  Cooper,  who  died  in  Paris. 

In  the  summer  of  1920  my  sisters,  who  for  many 
years  have  spent  several  months  at  Murray  Bay, 
Canada,  were  told  that,  written  on  a  piece  of  paper  in 
a  book  in  the  library  of  the  Manor  house,  was  a  copy 
of  these  verses,  dated  and  signed  as  below,  but  with 
nothing  to  indicate  the  name  of  the  person  to  whom 
they  are  addressed. 

Fenimore  Cooper  visited  Leghorn  at  about  the  time 
of  the  date.  The  only  suggestion  that  I  can  make  as  to 
the  "messmate"  is  that  it  may  have  been  Captain 
Woolsey  who  is  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  notes  as 
having  been  in  Paris  in  1826  or  1827. 

LEGHORN— STH.     M  ARCH— 1 829 

Sleep  on  in  peace  within  thy  foreign  grave, 
Companion  of  my  young  and  laughing  hour — 
Thought  bears  me  hence  to  wild  Ontario's  wave — 
To  other  scenes,  to  time  when  hope  had  power. 

Then  life  to  us  was  like  yon  glittering  main 
Viewed  in  the  calm,  beneath  its  sunny  skies, 
Then  impulse  bound  the  mind  in  pleasure's  chain, 
And  colors  rose  in  gold  before  the  eyes. 


222          Hegenbg  of  a  Jfrorttjeni  Count? 

We  based  our  rocks  of  fame  on  moving  seas, 
To  us  their  trackless  paths  were  beaten  ways — 
The  spirit  stirring  gale,  the  milder  breeze, 
The  battle's  carnage  teemed  with  laurel'd  praize — 

But  twice  ten  wiser  years  have  drawn  a  ray 

Of  austere  truth  athwart  this  treacherous  sphere, 

To  me  life  stands  exposed,  yet  I  obey 

Its  luring  smile — Thou — sleepest  ever  here — 

J.  Fenimore  Cooper 

visited  the  grave  of  his  old  messmate. 
Decber  6th  1828 

Copied  Leghorn 
March  5th.  1829. 


OTSEGO  HALL 

THE  following  description  of  Otsego  Hall  and  its 
predecessor,  called  the  Manor  House,  was  begun  by 
J.  Fenimore  Cooper  in  a  blank  book,  with  the  intention 
of  writing  a  complete  history  of  the  Hall.  This  idea 
he  abandoned  and  the  leaves  on  which  the  following 
was  written  were  cut  out.  I  found  them  among  other 
old  papers  and  print  them  with  all  the  blanks  unfilled. 

CONSTRUCTION  &c. 

At  the  original  settlement  of  Cooper stown,  The  pro- 
prietor William  Cooper,  laid  out  a  plot  of  ground  for  his  own 
residence  in  the  centre  of  the  village.  This  plot  faced  on 
Fair  Street,  and  extended  half  way  from  Second  to  Third 
Street.  It  was  enclosed  with  a  picket  fence,  and  contained 
about  an  acre  and  a  half  of  land.  In  1788,  Judge  Cooper 
erected  a  wooden  building,  nearly  on  a  line  with  Second 
Street,  and  directly  in  front  of  Fair  Street  or  nearly  on  the 
line  of  the  present  (1840)  wall.  This  house  was  of  two 
stories,  and  had  a  wing  at  each  end.  A  few  years  later,  an 
addition  was  annexed  to  the  rear.  A  good  representation 
of  it  is  to  be  seen  in  the  original  map,  where  the  house  is 
called  Manor  House.  It  was  a  roughly  built  house,  but 
good  for  the  country,  and  the  times.  This  house  was 
temporarily  inhabited  by  Judge  Cooper,  in  1789,  but  his 

223 


224  Hegenb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

family  did  not  remove  to  it,  until  Oct.  1790.  In  this  house, 
in  179  was  born  Henry  Frey  Cooper  the  youngest  child 
of  William  Cooper  and  Elizabeth  Fenimore,  who  died  at 
Burlington,  New  Jersey,  when  only  nine  months  old.  At 
this  time,  The  garden  was  near  the  house,  a  little  to  the 
east  of  it,  The  asparagus  bed,  being  near  the  present 
Bank.  The  barns  and  stables  were  on  the  north  side  of 
Second  Street,  in  the  rear  of  the  stone  store  built  by  N. 
Worthington. 

Lombardy  poplars  were  introduced  into  the  country  by 
Judge  Cooper,  about  the  year  1796  who  caused  several 
rows  of  them  to  be  set  out  in  his  grounds,  to  form  avenues 
to  the  new  building.  A  few  of  the  apple  trees  were  found 
in  the  lot,  having  been  planted  by  the  Indians  or  by  Col. 
Croghan,  The  old  deputy  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs, 
but  most  of  them  were  set  out  and  grafted  about  the  year 
1 795 .  An  Englishman  of  the  name  of  Zeb  did 

the  grafting. 

M.  de  Tallyrand  visited  Cooperstown,  in  the  year  1795, 
and  passed  several  days  with  Judge  Cooper,  in  the  old 
house. 

In  1796  Judge  Cooper  made  his  contracts  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  Hall.  The  stone  for  the  foundation  was 
obtained  from  the  fields,  on  the  farm  of  Luce, 

no  quarries  having  then  been  opened  in  the  mountains. 
The  bricks  were  made  at  the  outlet,  the  clay  having  been 
brought  from  The  Housman  Lot,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Lake.  The  lime  was  also  made  at  the  outlet.  When  the 
Hall  was  commenced,  Judge  Cooper  extended  the  grounds 
Through  to  Third  Street,  and  he  opened  a  lane  from  West 
Street,  to  communicate  with  new  barns  &c.  That  he  had 
built  on  a  lot  that  communicated  with  the  grounds,  west 
and  north  of  the  house.  The  foundation  of  the  Hall  was 
laid  in  the  summer  of  1797,  and  the  walls  of  the  house  were 


225 


run  up,  and  the  building  enclosed  in  that  of  1798.  The 
roof  was  raised,  1798.  The  interior  was  finished 

in  the  course  of  the  following  spring.  The  family  moved 
into  the  house  in  June  1799. 

According  to  the  original  distribution,  the  great  hall  was 
used  as  a  room,  and  was  furnished  in  a  very  general  way. 
A  piano  stood  between  the  window  and  door  on  the  north- 
east corner,  a  side  board  between  the  two  next  doors,  on 
the  same  side,  a  dining  table  between  the  two  next,  and  a 
tea-table,  between  the  last  door  and  the  window.  In  the 
southwest  corner  stood  an  old  fashioned  clock,  and  near  it, 
another  sewing  table.  A  long  settee  covered  with  chintz 
stood  between  the  two  doors  on  that  side,  and  a  large  hand 
organ  between  the  most  northern  of  the  doors  and  the 
window.  There  were  two  small  chandeliers  in  the  hall,  and 
it  was  warmed  by  a  large  tin  plate  stove  that  stood  in  the 
centre.  There  were  also  gilt  branches  on  the  door  casings, 
and  busts  in  the  pediments.  The  window  seats  were 
generally  rilled  with  books. 

The  northwest  room  was  intended  for  a  dining  room,  and 
there  is  now  a  trap  door  in  it,  that  was  made  for  passing  up 
dishes  from  below,  but  the  hall  proving  to  be  so  great  a 
favorite,  this  room,  as  commanding  a  view  of  the  lake,  was 
used  as  a  drawing  room.  It  was  very  seldom  opened,  how- 
ever, never,  indeed,  unless  at  some  family  festival.  This 
room  is  very  little  altered  from  what  it  was  in  1798,  The 
paper  alone  having  been  renewed  and  a  new  ceiling  made. 
The  original  paper  was  a  delicate  vine,  with  a  straw  colored 
back  ground. 

The  southwest  room  was  called  the  dining  room,  but  it  may 
be  questioned  if  a  table  was  ever  set  in  it,  during  the  lives  of 
Judge  Cooper  and  his  wife.  The  paper  was  figured,  with  a 
red  background,  and  exceedingly  ugly.  In  other  respects, 
this  room  is  much  as  it  used  to  be.  Though  it  was  not  oaked. 
is 


226          HegenbsJ  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

The  northeast  room  was  used  by  Mrs.  William  Cooper, 
as  a  bed-room;  the  bed  standing  in  the  south-west  corner. 
The  paint  was  blue,  and  the  paper  sombre.  In  that  day, 
it  was  the  custom  to  paint  The  wood- work  different  colours. 

The  stairs  were  straight,  steep,  and  mean.  They  were 
very  difficult  of  ascent  and  even  dangerous;  the  carpenters 
appearing  to  have  no  idea  of  a  landing.  The  paper  of 
the  little  passage  was  like  that  of  the  hall. 

The  house  was  divided  into  six  large  rooms  on  the  second 
floor.  The  garret  stairs  were  directly  over  those  below, 
and  there  were  two  windows  in  the  east  end  of  the  building 
one  to  light  the  little  passage,  and  the  other  to  light  the 
corridors,  up  stairs,  which  reached  to  the  doors  of  the  two 
western  chambers.  As  these  two  chambers  were  much  the 
largest  in  the  house,  They  were  kept  for  company.  That 
in  the  centre,  on  the  north  side,  was  the  young  men's  room, 
and  occupied  by  the  two  oldest  sons,  when  at  home;  that 
opposite  was  a  storeroom,  with  a  bed  for  any  familiar  ac- 
quaintance. Each  of  these  rooms  had  three  windows. 
The  northeast  room  was  occupied  by  the  two  daughters, 
Hannah  and  Ann,  and  the  room  opposite  by  the  boys, 
William  and  James. 

As  soon  as  the  old  house  was  vacant,  it  was  removed 
down  the  street,  far  enough  to  permit  a  view  of  the  Lake, 
and  was  subsequently  converted  into  stores.  In  the  end,  it 
was  consumed  by  fire. 

The  southeast  door  in  the  great  hall  communicated  with 
the  pantry,  which  was  large,  and  contained  The  second 
window  on  that  side  of  the  building.  A  door  opened  from 
t  he  little  passage,  into  a  room  behind  the  pantry.  That  was 
called  the  library.  This  room  had  two  windows;  one  on 
the  east,  and  one  on  the  south,  and  the  book  cases  stood  in  a 
recess,  between  the  end  of  the  pantry  and  the  partition 
beyond. 


©teego  J^all  227 

The  kitchen  garden  was  made,  about  the  year  1800,  at 
the  south-east  corner  of  the  lot,  and  a  small  vine  yard  was 
made  in  the  hollow  next  to  the  street.  Fences  ran  from  the 
two  southern  corners  of  the  house  to  Third  Street,  and  the 
enclosure  was  converted  into  a  flower  garden.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  grounds  were  either  in  fruit,  or  laid  out  in 
squares  divided  by  straight,  formal  gravel  walks. 

The  house  was  originally  painted  red  and  lined,  so  as  to 
show  the  bricks.  The  roof  was  painted  red,  and  had  a  light 
wooden  railing.  About  the  year  1800,  a  low  stone  addition, 
of  the  height  of  the  foundation,  was  run  out  towards  the 
east,  to  the  offices  &c.  and  as  a  laundry.  In  the  year  1803, 
another  of  the  same  height  and  material  was  put  on  the 
west  end,  and  was  used  as  an  office. 

The  summer  of  1799,  the  following  winter,  and  the  sum- 
mer of  1800  were  all  exceedingly  gay,  with  the  exception 
that  Judge  Cooper  was  absent,  in  Philadelphia,  where 
Congress  then  sat. 

It  ought  to  have  been  said  that  in  front  of  the  house  was 
a  stone  stoop,  with  a  slight  pediment  supported  by  four 
slender  columns,  and  in  the  rear  a  low  wooden  one  with 
seats. 

On  the  morning  of  the  loth  September,  Richard  Feni- 
more  Cooper,  the  eldest  son  of  Judge  Cooper  accompanied 
by  his  eldest  sister,  Hannah,  left  the  Hall,  on  horseback  to 
cross  the  hills  on  a  visit  to  the  Morrises  at  the  Butternuts. 
Miss  Cooper  was  mounted  on  a  spirited  imported  English 
blooded  mare,  and  when  about  a  mile  from  the  end  of  her 
journey,  the  mare  suddenly  jumped  aside  at  a  dog,  threw 
its  rider,  and  killed  Miss  Cooper,  on  the  spot.  This  young 
lady  was  just  two  and  twenty,  and  was  esteemed  and  loved 
by  all  who  knew  her.  Few  young  women  of  her  age,  ever 
died  more  lamented.  Her  body  was  conveyed  to  the  resi- 
dence of  General  Morris,  and  that  night  Mr.  Richard 


228          Hegenb*  of  a  Jlortfiem  Count? 

Morris  brought  the  sad  intelligence  to  the  Hall.  On  the 
night  of  the  nth  the  body  arrived,  and  was  placed  in  its 
coffin,  on  the  Fenimore  Table  as  it  is  called,  in  the  dining- 
room  (now  the  library,  1840)  near  the  wall,  and  on  the  right 
hand,  on  entering  the  room.  On  the  I2th  the  body  was 
removed  into  the  Hall,  and  placed  between  the  two  southern 
doors  on  the  east  side,  leaving  room  for  a  row  of  chairs  next 
the  wall.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Nash  preached  a  sermon,  standing 
near  the  pantry  door,  and  the  hall  was  filled  with  people. 
Judge  Cooper,  Richard  Fenimore,  Samuel,  and  James  Feni- 
more, were  all  the  members  of  the  family  present,  Isaac 
being  in  Philadelphia,  and  William  at  Princeton  College. 
Mrs.  Cooper  and  her  daughter  Ann,  were  in  the  room  of 
the  former.  The  procession  left  the  house  by  the  front 
door,  and  the  body  was  interred  in  the  present  family  bury- 
ing ground.  A  slab  was  placed  over  The  grave,  made  of 
the  common  stone  of  the  country  (quarries  had  then  been 
opened)  and  The  inscription  on  it  was  written,  by  Judge 
Cooper.  This  slab  does  not  contain  The  name  of  the  de- 
ceased, or  any  date  whatever.  The  death  of  Miss  H. 
Cooper  was  The  first  that  had  occurred  in  the  family  at 
Cooperstown.  Judge  Cooper,  however,  had  lost  several 
children  previously  to  removing  to  Cooperstown,  Their 
names  were  Amos,  Abraham,  Elizabeth,  two  that  were 
never  named,  and  Henry  Frey.  Henry  Frey  was  the  only 
child  of  Judge  Cooper's  who  was  born  in  Cooperstown,  and 
he  died  and  was  buried  at  Burlington,  New  Jersey.  Until 
the  death  of  Miss  Cooper,  a  sort  of  superstition  prevailed 
in  the  family,  That  all  were  to  die  and  be  buried  at 
Burlington. 

On  the  of  ,  Richard  Fenimore  Cooper  was 

married  to  Ann  Low  Carey.  Richard  Fenimore  was  the 
eldest  child  of  William  Cooper  and  Elizabeth  Fenimore  and 
Ann  Low  was  the  second  daughter  of  Richard  Carey  of 


Otscgo  Sail  229 

Springfield,  Otsego  County  and  Ann  Low,  his  wife,  of  New 
York,  The  bride  and  bridegroom  reached  the  Hall,  on  the 
day  of  the  wedding,  and  they  took  possession  of  the  south- 
western room.  Judge  Cooper,  at  this  time,  was  absent  in 
Washington,  where  Congress  then  sat.  The  winter  of 
1880-1  was  less  gay,  at  the  Hall,  Than  the  preceding,  on 
account  of  the  death  of  Miss  Cooper,  but  several  young 
ladies  passed  a  portion  of  it  there.  Among  them  were  Miss 
Mary  Ann  Morris  and  Miss  Eliza  Carey. 

This  year,  and  the  two  or  three  that  succeeded,  The 
vineyard  produced  very  good  grapes  but  cold  winters  killed 
the  vines  about  the  year  1804.  The  plums  of  the  garden 
were  very  celebrated  from  1796  to  1808  &c.  &c. 

In  the  course  of  The  year  1801,  Richard  Fenimore  Cooper 
took  possession  of  his  own  home  at  Apple  Hill,  being  the 
first  of  the  family  who  quitted  The  paternal  residence.  At 
this  time,  Isaac  Cooper  was  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  counting- 
house  of  &  Bancker,  William  at  Princeton  College; 
James  at  school  with  Rev.  Tho.  Ellison,  rector  of  St. 
Peter's  Albany;  Samuel  and  Ann  at  home.  The  latter,  how- 
ever, passed  he  winter  of  1801-2  in  Philadelphia. 

Isaac  Cooper  was  married  to  Mary  Ann  Morris  25th 
Dec.  1804,  and,  on  reaching  the  Hall,  a  few  days  after  The 
marriage,  They  occupied  The  .  In  1805,  They 

removed  to  The  house  at  the  west  corner  of  Second  and 
fair  streets,  since  destroyed  by  fire.  On  the  occasion  of 
this  wedding,  The  drawing  room  was  opened,  for  company, 
for  the  second  time,  The  death  of  Miss  Cooper  having 
prevented  This  from  occurring  except  on  great  occasions. 

Miss  Ann  Cooper,  The  only  surviving  daughter  of  Judge 
Cooper,  was  married  on  the  of  May  1803  to  George 

Pomeroy,  and  continued  to  reside  in  the  Hall,  until  the  close 
of  the  following  year,  when  they  removed  to  their  own 
house,  corner  of  Second  and  Water  Street.  This  marriage 


230          Hegente  of  a  J^ortfjetm  Count? 

took  place  in  The  hall,  near  the  spot  where  the  dining  table 
is  usually  set,  The  Rev.  Isaac  Lewis  officiating.  This  is 
the  first  marriage  That  ever  occurred  in  the  house.  The 
young  couple  occupied  The  room  now  called  New  Jersey. 
In  this  room,  on  the  of  eve  was  born 

William  Cooper  Pomeroy,  the  first  child  ever  born  in  the 
building.  He  died  at  his  father's  house  ,  1807. 

After  the  removal  of  Isaac  Cooper  to  the  house  in  Second 
Street,  the  family  in  the  Hall  usually  consisted  of  only 
Judge  Cooper,  his  wife,  and  their  fourth  son  Samuel;  Wil- 
liam residing  in  New  York  and  James  being  either  at 
college,  or  at  sea.  At  this  time,  The  domestics,  indoors 
were  reduced  to  The  Governor,  as  he  was  called,  a  hired 
black  man;  Sarah  the  cook;  and  Betty,  the  chambermaid. 

1808  William  Cooper  was  married  to  Eliza  Clason,  at 
the  county  house  of  the  lady's  father,  on  the  East  River, 
and  in  the  course  of  the  season  They  paid  their  first  visit  to 
Cooperstown.  They  also  occupied  New  Jersey,  which  had 
now  got  to  be  used  as  a  room  for  married  members  of  the 
family. 

December  1809,  Judge  Cooper  died,  at  Lewis'  tavern, 
Albany.  His  body  was  brought  to  the  Hall  and  was  placed 
in  The  .  The  funeral  took  place  on  The 

This  was  the  second  funeral  that  took  place  from  the  house, 
neither  individual  having  died  in  it. 

Judge  Cooper,  in  his  will,  left  the  Hall  to  his  widow  for 
her  life,  and,  after  her  death,  to  each  of  his  five  sons  in 
succession,  or  to  that  one  who  should  choose  to  accept  it, 
commencing  with  the  eldest,  at  the  sum  of  $15,000.  At 
this  time  the  grounds  were  not  much  more  than  half  as 
large  as  they  are  now  (1840)  for,  though  The  adjoining  lots 
belonged  to  the  estate  of  Judge  Cooper,  They  were  not 
supposed  to  be  included  in  the  devise.  As  the  valuation 
was  supposed  to  be  high,  neither  of  the  sons  seemed  disposed 


©teego  3£all  231 

to  accept  of  the  property,  when  by  a  rigid  construction  of 
the  will  it  must  have  descended  to  James,  The  younger. 

From  the  time  of  Judge  Cooper's  death,  The  house  was 
occupied  only  by  Mrs.  Cooper  and  her  son  Samuel,  until 
the  latter  married,  on  the  of  181  ,  Eliza 

Bartlett,  of  Cooperstown.  Mr.  Samuel  Cooper  and  his 
wife  occupied  the  Library,  which  was  converted  into  a  bed 
room  for  their  convenience.  The  office  was  now  deserted, 
all  the  papers  of  the  family,  having  been  removed  to  an 
office  constructed  by  Mr.  Isaac  Cooper,  for  that  purpose. 

Some  of  the  furniture  mentioned  is  now  at  Fynmere. 
The  sideboard,  the  "hand  organ,"  and  the  Fenimore 
Table  are  all  in  the  dining-room.  Many  of  the  books 
which  belonged  to  William  Cooper  and  his  family  and 
some  of  the  silverware  are  also  at  Fynmere. 

Some  years  ago  there  was  a  curious  story  about 
Otsego  Hall  started  by  one  of  the  Smiths  of  Phila- 
delphia, one  of  whose  number,  R.  R.  Smith,  was  a 
friend  of  Judge  Cooper's,  lived  at  Cooperstown  for  a 
time,  and  kept  the  settlement  shop.  The  Smiths  owned 
some  of  the  Otego  Patent  about  twenty  miles  west  of 
Cooperstown  on  the  Otego  Creek.  There,  about  1774, 
one  of  them  built  a  small  frame  building  and  dubbed  it 
"Smith's  Hall."  It  is  still  standing  about  half  a  mile 
north  of  Laurens  to  the  east  of  the  main  road  on  the 
west  sid'e  of  the  Otego  Creek.  It  is  known  locally  as 
"Smith's  Hall." 

Every  family  has  its  historian — more  or  less  inac- 


232          Hegente  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

curate.  When  the  Smith  family  history  was  written, 
the  author  looked  about  for  " Smith's  Hall" — evidently 
confusing  Otego  and  Otsego,  and  pleased  by  the  appear- 
ance of  Otsego  Hall,  he  claimed  it  and  published  one  of 
the  well-known  prints  of  it  in  his  history — where  it  still  ap- 
pears, with  the  explanation  that  it  was  built  by  one  of 
the  Smiths  and  known  as  Smith's  Hall  until  Judge 
Cooper  bought  and  remodelled  it,  and  changed  the 
name  to  "Otsego  Hall."  Such  is  history!  No  Smith 
of  that  family  owned  any  land  in  the  Cooper  Patent, 
and  Judge  Cooper,  of  course,  built  the  Hall  for  himself 
on  his  own  land. 

When  Otsego  Hall  became  the  property  of  James 
Fenimore  Cooper,  he  altered  it  very  materially.  The 
entrance  hall  was  just  about  twenty-five  by  fifty  feet, 
and  the  building  itself  about  seventy-five  feet  wide  by 
fifty  odd  deep.  The  model  in  the  museum  at  Coopers- 
town  while  fairly  accurate  is  in  many  details  wrong. 


A  GUIDE  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

I  AM  including  in  this  volume  of  sketches  an  intro- 
duction written  by  me  in  1897  for  a  second  edition  of  a 
volume  of  letters  by  Judge  Cooper,  published  in  1807, 
under  the  title  of  A  Guide  in  the  Wilderness,  and  long 
since  out  of  print.  I  am  doing  this,  although  it  in- 
volves a  certain  amount  of  repetition,  as  the  introduc- 
tion contains  many  facts  and  anecdotes  not  appearing 
in  the  other  articles  in  this  book. 

INTRODUCTION 

WILLIAM  COOPER,  the  writer  of  the  letters  composing 
the  Guide  in  the  Wilderness,  was  born  December  2d, 
1754,  in  Byberry  Township,  then  in  Philadelphia 
County,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  December  12, 
1775,  at  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  Elizabeth  Fenimore, 
daughter  of  Richard  Fenimore,  a  descendant  of  early 
English  settlers  in  New  Jersey.  He  became  interested 
in  large  tracts  of  land  in  New  York  and  elsewhere 
shortly  after  the  Revolution,  and  from  that  time,  until 
his  death  in  1809,  his  principal  occupation  seems  to  have 

233 


234  Hejjente  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

been  settling  his  own  lands  and  those  in  which  he  had  a 
joint  interest  with  others. 

The  time  was  one  of  great  activity  in  land  settlement 
and  speculation.  Few,  if  any,  new  settlements  had 
been  undertaken  during  the  war  and  this  period  of 
stagnation  was  naturally  followed  by  large  speculative 
purchases  of  wild  lands  by  men  with  money  to  invest. 
The  rapidity  with  which  land  could  be  disposed  of  to 
persons  seeking  homes  is  shown  by  the  settlement  of 
the  tract  of  which  the  village  of  Cooperstown  forms  a 
part.  Judge  Cooper  after  examining  this  land  in  1785 
offered  forty  thousand  acres  for  sale  to  settlers,  and  he 
states,  that  in  sixteen  days  it  was  all  taken  up  by  the 
poorer  class  of  people,  who  bought  principally  small 
holdings.  Here,  at  the  foot  of  Otsego  Lake,  in  1787,  he 
laid  out  a  village  which  was  given  the  name  of  Coopers- 
Town.  He  gradually  acquired  other  large  tracts  of 
land  in  the  neighborhood,  and  had,  practically,  the 
management  of  the  settlement  of  the  greater  part  of 
what  is  now  Otsego  County,  either  as  owner  or  by  agree- 
ment with  the  owners,  as  well  as  of  lands  in  other  parts 
of  the  State  which  he  owned  or  controlled. 

Speculation  in  American  lands  was  not  confined  to 
residents  of  this  country.  Large  tracts  were  bought 
by  foreigners.  The  voluminous  correspondence  which 
Judge  Cooper  has  left  shows  that  Necker,  and  after- 
wards Madame  de  Stael,  were  owners  of  lands  in  our 


a  (Puttie  in  tfjc  Jililtimicss;  235 

northern  counties.  Under  the  stimulus  of  this  specu- 
lation land  in  some  localities  brought  prices  which  it  is 
doubtful  if  it  has  realized  since.  Judge  Cooper  paid 
ten  dollars  an  acre  for  land  in  what  is  now  known  as 
the  North  Woods,  which  is  hardly  worth  a  quarter  of 
that  price  to-day.  Generally,  however,  his  judgment 
was  remarkably  good.  This  is  shown  by  his  designa- 
tion in  one  of  the  following  letters  of  the  locations  which 
were  likely,  in  his  opinion,  to  become  the  sites  of  im- 
portant towns ;  among  them  he  mentions  the  mouth  of 
the  Buffalo  creek — now  Buffalo;  the  straits  of  Niagara 
below  the  falls — now  Lewiston,  and  the  first  falls  of  the 
Genesee — now  Rochester. 

When  the  Guide  in  the  Wilderness  was  written,  the 
only  means  of  transportation  were  waterways  and 
roads ;  and  the  value  of  lands,  present  and  future,  rested 
largely  on  their  location  with  reference  to  rivers  and 
lakes,  to  roads  or  the  probable  line  of  great  highways. 
Already  a  canal  was  under  discussion  and  the  sugges- 
tions on  this  subject  of  Judge  Cooper  are  interesting  in 
view  of  the  subsequent  building  of  the  Erie  Canal. 
One  element  in  the  speculative  value  of  land,  which  in- 
vestors apparently  overlooked,  was  the  effect  which  the 
clearing  of  the  forests  would  have  on  the  streams. 
Large  tracts  of  land,  then  deemed  valuable  because 
they  were  located  on  the  banks  of  some  stream,  navi- 
gable for  scows  and  small  boats,  soon  lost  the  advan- 


236          Hegenb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

tage  of  such  a  location  by  the  shrinking  of  the  streams, 
due  to  the  cutting  away  of  the  woods. 

Great  profits  were  anticipated  from  the  manufac- 
ture of  maple  sugar,  and  among  Cooper's  papers  is  a 
copy  of  a  letter  to  the  President  of  the  United  States 
(George  Washington)  which  accompanied  a  present 
of  "sugar  and  spirits  produced  from  the  maple  tree" 
sent  by  Arthur  Noble  (after  whom  the  patents  of 
Arthurboro  and  Nobleboro  are  named)  and  Judge 
Cooper. 

The  views  of  the  author  of  the  Guide  on  the  wisdom 
of  selling  in  fee,  instead  of  leasing  in  fee,  have  been 
proved  sound,  by  the  collapse  of  the  attempt  to  create 
in  this  State  a  system  of  land  proprietorship  based  on 
perpetual  leases  binding  the  tenants  to  the  payment  of 
perpetual  rent.  This  course  was  followed  on  many  of 
the  great  estates  in  New  York  and  resulted  in  endless 
litigation  and  the  "anti-rent  war." 

Life,  in  what  was  then  the  frontier  settlement  of 
Cooperstown,  was  not  without  its  interests  other  than 
those  of  mere  business.  The  village  grew  and  the 
settlers  in  the  surrounding  country  prospered.  In 
1790  Judge  Cooper  brought  his  family  from  Burlington. 
It  consisted  of  fifteen  persons,  including  servants.  In 
the  same  year,  as  appears  from  a  census  taken  then 
the  village  proper  contained  eight  families  with  a  total 
of  thirty- three  persons  and  two  slaves;  seven  houses 


3  <§ufoe  in  tlje  OTtlberneste  237 

and  three  barns.  This  "census"  is  endorsed  by  the 
maker  as  follows:  "I  may  not  be  perfectly  correct,  but 
the  difference  is  not  material  if  any."  In  1802  the 
population  had  increased  to  342  whites  and  7  blacks, 
and  in  1816  to  826  persons.  Churches,  an  "academy, " 
and  a  public  library  had  been  started.  A  newspaper 
was  published  in  1795,  and  at  least  one  has  been  pub- 
lished in  the  village  continuously  since.  Cooperstown 
at  the  time  of  the  writing  of  the  Guide  in  the  Wilderness 
stood  in  point  of  trade  and  population  next  to  Utica. 
The  former  now  has  about  2900  inhabitants  and  the 
latter  about  45,000. 
Jacob  Morris,  writing  in  January,  1796,  says: 

The  brilliancy  exhibited  at  Cooperstown  last  Tuesday — 
the  Masonic  festival — was  the  admiration  and  astonishment 
of  all  beholders.  Upwards  of  eighty  people  sat  down  to  one 
table — some  very  excellent  toasts  were  drank  and  the  great- 
est decency  and  decorum  was  observed.  ...  In  the 
evening  we  had  a  splendid  ball,  sixty  couple,  thirty  in  a 
set,  both  sets  on  the  floor  at  the  same  time,  pleasant  manners 
and  good  dancing. 

This  was  not  the  first  ball  given  at  Cooperstown. 
There  is  the  record  of  the  trial,  in  1791,  of  a  Doctor 

P ,  who  was  charged  with  having  mixed  an  emetic 

with  the  beverage  drunk  at  a  ball  given  at  the  "Red 
Lion."  He  was  tried,  convicted  of  the  offense,  put  in 
the  stocks,  and  then  banished  from  the  village.  Ban- 


238          3Ugenb£  of  a  Jlortjjem  County 

ishment   was  not   an   unusual,   though  probably   an 
unlawful,  form  of  punishment  at  the  time. 

The  place  seems  to  have  been  attractive  to  foreigners, 
seeking  a  permanent  or  temporary  home  in  this  country, 
as  many  of  them  found  their  way  to  it.  For  some 
years  an  ex-governor  of  one  of  the  French  islands  kept 
a  shop  in  the  village.  Talleyrand  visited  Judge  Cooper, 
and  wrote  verses  to  one  of  his  daughters,  and  many  of 
the  prominent  federalists  of  the  State  stayed  for  longer 
or  shorter  periods  with  him.  In  1796  he  began  a  large 
brick  house  for  his  own  occupation  calling  it  Otsego 
Hall.  It  took  the  place  of  an  older  one  known  as  the 
Mansion.  Here  open  house  was  kept  and  a  liberal 
hospitality  dispensed.  Traveling  was  done  by  short 
stages,  over  poor  roads,  from  the  home  of  one  friend  or 
acquaintance  to  that  of  another,  and  doubtless  the 
Mansion,  and  later  the  Hall,  received  their  share  of 
such  patronage.  Traditions  still  live  of  the  good  times 
enjoyed,  and  the  receipted  bills  for  the  tuns  of  madeira 
consumed  have  long  survived  the  giver  and  partakers  of 
the  feasts.  That  dinners  were  not  unusual  is  apparent 
from  the  following  provision  in  the  lease  of  Judge 
Cooper's  house,  made  in  1798,  when  he  went  to  Philadel- 
phia for  the  winter  but  expected  to  board  with  the  lessee 
at  times:  "When  he  makes  a  dinner  for  his  friends,  then 
the  said  William  shall  pay  three  shillings  per  man  to  the 
said  Samuel  and  on  all  occasions  find  his  own  liquors." 


9  <§ufoe  in  tfte  Mitoerne**  239 

The  hospitality,  if  tradition  speaks  truly,  was  some- 
times enforced  with  amiable  roughness.  The  story  is 
still  told  of  how  Judge  Cooper,  while  driving  a  sleigh 
full  of  guests,  stopped  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  an  ex- 
officer  of  the  French  army,  who  was  living  on  the  shores 
of  Otsego  Lake,  and  asked  him  to  join  the  party  and 
dine  at  the  Hall.  He  firmly  declined  the  invitation, 
but  his  would-be  entertainers  were  not  to  be  discour- 
aged and  carried  him  forcibly  to  the  dinner.  Arrived 
at  the  Hall  they  found,  to  their  delight,  that  their  cap- 
tive, suffering  from  the  delays  and  inconveniences  of 
frontier  housekeeping,  was  without  a  shirt.  Judge 
Cooper,  however,  supplied  him  with  one,  and,  as 
the  involuntary  guest  was  frequently  heard  to  say 
afterwards,  was  so  hospitable  as  to  give  him  a  ruffled 
one. 

The  head  of  a  settlement  was  subject  to  other  de- 
mands than  those  on  his  wardrobe.  One  of  the  French 
settlers  borrowed  of  Judge  Cooper  some  fifty  dollars. 
As  time  went  on  the  latter  noticed  that  his  debtor's 
visits  to  the  Hall  became  less  and  less  frequent  until 
they  finally  ceased.  Meeting  the  man  one  day,  he 
remonstrated  with  him,  telling  him  that  so  small  a 
matter  should  not  cause  him  annoyance  and  urging  him 
not  to  allow  it  to  interfere  with  his  visits  to  the  Hall. 
The  Frenchman,  however,  felt  that  the  fifty  dollars 
weighed  heavily  on  his  honor,  and  that  he  could  not 


240          Hesente  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

partake  of  the  Judge's  hospitality  until  the  debt  was 
paid.  Not  long  afterwards  Judge  Cooper  saw  his 
debtor  approaching  him  with  every  manifestation  of 
joy,  waving  his  hat  and  shouting :  * '  Good  news,  Judge 
Cooper,  Good  news —  My  mother  is  dead!  My 
mother  is  dead!  I  pay  you  the  fifty  dollars." 

Judge  Cooper  seems  to  have  prided  himself  on  his 
physical  strength  and  agility.  He  offered  a  lot  (prob- 
ably 150  acres  of  land)  as  a  reward  to  any  man  on  the 
settlement  who  could  throw  him.  The  challenge  was 
accepted,  the  Judge  finally  thrown  by  one  of  the  settlers, 
and  the  lot  conveyed  to  his  conqueror. 

William  Cooper  was  appointed  First  Judge  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Otsego  County  in  1791  and 
held  this  office  until  October,  1800.  His  appointment, 
so  the  commission  reads,  was  for  "such  time  as  he  shall 
well  behave  himself  therein  or  until  he  shall  attain  the 
age  of  sixty  years."  His  retirement  from  office  was 
not  due  to  either  limitation.  The  commission  is  signed 
by  George  Clinton,  recited  to  be  ' '  Governor  of  our  said 
State,  General  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  all  the 
militia  and  Admiral  of  the  navy  of  the  same."  He  was 
twice  elected  to  Congress,  in  1795  and  in  1799,  and  once 
lost  his  election. 

The  interest  in  politics  during  the  earlier  years  of  the 
United  States  far  exceeded  that  of  to-day,  and  entered 
largely  into  the  life  of  all  the  inhabitants.  Nearly 


a  <@utoe  in  t&e  Wilberne**  241 

every  elector  seems  to  have  been  a  politician.  The 
letters  of  the  time  are  full  of  politics  and  party  ani- 
mosity. Judge  Cooper,  a  Federalist,  was  a  prominent 
member  of  his  party  and  devoted  much  of  his  time  to 
its  cause.  He  was  on  intimate  terms  with  its  leaders, 
and  in  constant  correspondence  with  many  of  them. 

The  population  in  the  country  was  scanty,  and  as  the 
franchise  was  restricted  by  a  property  qualification, 
the  voters  were  comparatively  few;  but  the  enthusi- 
asm was  unlimited.  The  polls  could  be  kept  open  five 
days,  so  as  to  accommodate  all  wanting  to  vote,  and  as 
there  was  no  secret  ballot  the  excitement  was  constant 
and  intense.  Jacob  Morris,  writing  of  an  election  in 
Unadilla  (Otsego  County)  at  which  141  votes  were  cast, 
and  the  federalist  majority  was  five,  after  dwelling  on 
the  completeness  of  the  victory,  says :  ' '  Our  success  was 
wholly  ascribable  to  the  federalist  spirit  of  the  Butter- 
nuts; the  hardy  sons  of  this  new  settlement,  rushed 
over  the  Otego  hills,  an  irresistible  phalanx" — and  then 
referring  to  his  political  opponents,  adds : 

That  since  in  political  dust  they  are  laid 

They're  all  dead  and  d d  and  no  more  can  be  said. 

There  are  frequent  complaints  in  the  letters  of  fraud 
and  of  influence  and  prominence  of  foreigners,  es- 
pecially the  Irish.  Fear  for  the  future  of  the  country 
and  the  stability  of  property  is  expressed  in  almost  the 

16 


242  Hegente  of  a  J?ort{jern  Count? 

terms  used  to-day.  The  federalists  are  "friends  of 
order"  and  their  opponents  "anti-Christians,"  "ene- 
mies of  the  country,"  etc.  One  prominent  resident  of 
Otsego  county  and  of  Philadelphia,  writes:  "We  are 
busy  about  electing  a  senator  in  the  State  legislature. 

The  contest  is  between  B.  R.  M ,  a  gentleman,  and 

consequently  a  federalist,  and  a  dirty  stinking  anti- 
federal  Jew  tavern-keeper  called  I.  I .  But,  Judge, 

the  friends  to  order  here  don't  understand  the  business, 
they  are  uniformly  beaten,  we  used  to  order  these  things 
better  at  Cooperstown." 

Philip  Schuyler,  writing  to  Judge  Cooper  of  the 
election  of  1791,  says: 

I  believe  fasting  and  prayer  to  be  good,  but  if  you  had 
only  fasted  and  prayed  I  am  sure  we  should  not  have  had 
seven  hundred  votes  from  your  country — report  says  that 
you  was  very  civil  to  the  young  and  handsome  of  the  sex, 
that  you  flattered  the  old  and  ugly,  and  even  embraced  the 
toothless  and  decrepid,  in  order  to  obtain  votes.  When 
will  you  write  a  treatise  on  electioneering?  Whenever  you 
do,  afford  only  a  few  copies  to  your  friends. 

Campaigns  were  not,  however,  always  conducted  on 
such  peaceful  and  pleasant  lines,  as  appears  from  the 
following  affidavits,  a  number  of  printed  copies  of 
which  are  among  Judge  Cooper's  papers,  endorsed  in 
his  handwriting,  "Oath  how  I  whipped  Cochran." 
They  were  apparently  used  as  campaign  documents. 


3  <@ufte  in  tfje  aJSitoerne**  243 

The  James  Cochran  referred  to  was  a  political  opponent, 
and  defeated  Cooper  for  Congress  at  an  earlier  date. 

Jessie  Hyde,  of  the  town  of  Warran,  being  duly  sworn, 
saith,  that  on  the  sixteenth  day  of  October  in  the  year  1799, 
he  this  deponent,  did  see  James  Cochran  make  an  assault 
upon  William  Cooper  in  the  public  highway.  That  the 
said  William  Cooper  defended  himself,  and  in  the  struggle 
Mr.  Cochran,  in  a  submissive  manner,  requested  of  Judge 
Cooper  to  let  him  go. 

JESSIE  HYDE. 
Sworn  this  sixteenth  day  of 

October,  1799,  before  me, 

RICHARD  EDWARDS,  Master  in  Chancery. 

OTSEGO  COUNTY,  ss. 

Personally  appeared  Stephen  Ingalls,  one  of  the  con- 
stables of  the  town  of  Otsego,  and  being  duly  sworn,  deposeth 
and  saith,  that  he  was  present  at  the  close  of  a  bruising 
match  between  James  Cochran,  Esq.,  and  William  Cooper, 
Esq.,  on  or  about  the  sixteenth  of  October  last,  when  the 
said  James  Cochran  confessed  to  the  said  William  Cooper 
these  words:  "I  acknowledge  you  are  too  much  of  a  buffer 
for  me,"  at  which  time  it  was  understood,  as  this  deponent 
conceives,  that  Cochran  was  confessedly  beaten. 

STEPHEN  INGALS. 
Sworn  before  me  this  sixth 

day  of  November,  1799. 

JOSHUA  DEWEY,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

In  the  election  of  1792  the  State  canvassers,  acting 
upon  the  advice  of  Aaron  Burr,  rejected,  for  alleged 


244          Hegenb*  of  a  J^tortfiern  Count? 

irregularity  in  the  manner  of  their  return,  certain  votes 
and  among  them  those  of  Otsego  County,  and  by  so 
doing  changed  the  result  of  the  election,  defeated  Jay, 
and  declared  Clinton  elected  Governor.  This  action 
caused  great  indignation  among  the  federalists  and 
seems  to  have  been  unjustified.  As  a  means  of  divert- 
ing attention  from  it,  a  petition,  charging  Judge  Cooper 
with  having  unduly  influenced  the  voters  in  his  county, 
was  presented  to  the  State  legislature.  An  investiga- 
tion was  had,  and  the  petition  finally  dismissed  as 
frivolous  and  vexatious.  Judging  from  the  personal 
letters  on  the  subject  written  Cooper  at  the  time,  the 
charges  were  groundless. 

Judge  Cooper  died  at  Albany,  December  22,  1809, 
as  the  result  of  a  blow  on  the  head,  struck  from  behind, 
by  an  opponent  as  they  were  leaving  a  political  meeting. 

This  Guide  in  the  Wilderness  was  not  published  until 
after  his  death,  and  it  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  the  man. 
The  letters  composing  it  show  Judge  Cooper  to  have 
been  a  close  observer  of  nature,  a  man  who  saw  and 
understood  the  value  of  the  natural  phenomena  among 
which  he  lived,  and  a  student  of  character.  That  he 
was  of  a  kindly  disposition  the  letters  which  exist  among 
his  papers  show.  He  made  some  bitter  enemies,  as  was 
inevitable  with  a  man  leading  so  active  a  life  and  taking 
so  great  an  interest  in  politics  as  he  did,  but  he  had 
many  devoted  friends. 


&  (Suibe  in  tfje  lHttoente$£  245 

William  Sampson,  to  whom  the  letters  composing 
The  Guide  in  the  Wilderness  were  written,  was  a  well- 
known  lawyer.  He  was  born  in  Londonderry  in  1764 
and  died  in  New  York  in  1836.  He  was  the  son  of  a 
Presbyterian  minister,  and  an  officer  of  the  Irish  Vol- 
unteers. He  was  counsel  at  Dublin  for  members  of 
the  society  of  United  Irishmen.  After  the  failure  of 
the  revolution  in  1798,  he  fled  from  Ireland  but  was 
brought  back  to  Dublin  and  eventually  allowed  his 
freedom  upon  the  condition  of  his  living  in  Portugal, 
where  he  was  afterwards  imprisoned  at  the  instance  of 
the  English  government,  but  was  finally  set  at  liberty 
and  came  to  this  country.  He  wrote  a  number  of 
books,  among  them  his  own  memoirs,  of  which  three 
editions  were  published. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  his  to  Judge 
Cooper  explains  the  reason  for  the  publication  of  the 
Guide  in  Dublin  and  fixes  the  date  of  the  letters  as  prior 
to  1807. 

SIR: — Since  you  left  us  I  have  been  too  much  occupied 
with  moving,  attendance  on  the  courts,  and  other  matters 
to  have  made  much  progress  respecting  our  little  work.  I 
have  however  employed  my  spare  moments  toward  mak- 
ing a  fair  transcript  of  your  letters.  The  booksellers  here 
give  little  encouragement,  or  to  say  better,  very  great  dis- 
couragement to  any  literary  object,  and  unless  they  have 
it  for  nothing  to  themselves  they  seem  to  make  it  a  point  to 
keep  it  down.  But  there  is  a  ship  about  to  sail  shortly  for 


246          JLtQmte  of  a  J?tortf)ettt  Count? 

Belfast  or  Londonderry,  in  both  of  which  quarters  I  have 
brothers,  men  of  liberal  minds  and  passionate  for  useful 
knowledge.  I  have  no  doubt  your  letters  will  interest  them 
highly,  and  the  public  no  less.  And  although  neither  your 
object  in  writing  those  letters  nor  mine  in  publishing  them 
was  to  get  money,  yet  I  should  think  that  going  to  the  ex- 
pense of  printing  a  work  so  likely  to  be  productive  to  a 
publisher  would  be  useless.  I  wish  to  have  your  consent 
before  I  take  any  further  step,  and  shall  be  glad  to  hear  how 
your  health  has  been  and  what  there  is  new  in  your  woods 
...  I  am  sir, 

Your  friend  and  humble  servant, 

WILLIAM  SAMPSON. 
NEW  YORK,  I2th  of  May,  1807. 

In  this  republication,  the  original  text  has  been 
strictly  followed,  and  there  appear  all  of  the  mistakes 
in  spelling  and  grammatical  errors  existing  in  the  pam- 
phlet as  first  published — for  some  of  them  the  author 
probably  is  responsible,  for  others  the  printer. 

Albany,  March,  1897. 


WILLIAM   COOPER 

WILLIAM  COOPER  was  born  in  1755  in  Byberry 
township,  a  part  of  old  Philadelphia  County,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

His  father  was  James  Cooper;  the  family  were  all 
Quakers;  the  first  of  them  to  come  to  America  was 
James  Cooper,  of  Stratford  on  Avon,  where  there  was  a 
large  family  of  Coopers  living  in  and  about  Stratford. 
He  came  to  Trenton,  N.  J.,  in  1680  and  bought  a 
"plantation"  near  there;  he  sold  this  a  few  years  later 
and  moved  to  Byberry  Township  where  he  bought  an- 
other; he  owned  considerable  land  in  and  about  Phila- 
delphia including  a  piece  on  Arch  Street,  four  hundred 
and  fifty-five  feet  front,  but  only  fifty-one  feet  deep. 
He  died  December  4,  1732,  leaving  a  good  deal  of  real 
estate,  and  a  will  drawn  in  his  own  handwriting  but 
unsigned.  He  was  born  in  1 66 1 .  It  is  said  that  he  had 
a  shop  of  some  kind  on  the  Arch  Street  property,  at  the 
corner  of  Second  Street ;  he  is  sometimes  described  as  a 
merchant. 

His  son  William,  who  died  in  1736,  had  a  plantation 

247 


248          Hegente  of  a  JBtottljent  Count? 

of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Byberry,  upon  which 
apparently  he  lived,  in  addition  to  land  in  Philadelphia. 

William's  son,  James,  was  born  in  Byberry  in  1729; 
he  owned  a  plantation  at  Buckingham,  Bucks  Co., 
but  lived  in  Byberry,  where  Judge  William  Cooper  was 
born  December  2,  1755,  in  his  father's  residence,  near 
where  the  Somerton  Post  Office  stood  in  1885. 

The  wife  of  the  first  James,  Hester  or  Esther,  was  the 
progenitrix  of  the  family  saints;  she  seems  to  have  been 
a  preacher  of  prominence  and  as  such  much  admired; 
she  traveled  all  over  the  country  addressing  meetings 
and  there  is  a  long  account  of  her  in  The  Friend  (vol. 
xxviii,  p.  51)  and  of  the  shortcomings  of  her  husband, 
James — and  of  his  repentance.  It  is  an  amusing  illus- 
tration of  the  religious  atmosphere  and  activity  then 
prevailing  in  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey. 

ESTHER  COOPER 

Of  this  Friend  we  know  little,  except  that  she  was  in 
good  standing  amongst  the  valuable  ministers  of  the  day, 
and  one  who  was  concerned  to  be  found  faithful  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  gift  committed  to  her.  At  what  time  she  came 
forth  in  the  ministry  we  know  not,  but  she  had  a  portion  of 
trial  to  fit  her  for  the  work.  Her  husband  was  one  who 
went  into  the  separation  with  George  Keith,  and  whose 
estrangement  from  Friends  must  have  been  cause  of  great 
concern  to  her.  But  he  was  restored,  and  perhaps  the 
testimony  which  he  gave  against  himself  may  have  sufficient 
historical  importance  to  merit  a  place  here. 


Jfamtlp  jfrotea  249 

Dear  Friends, — I  am  constrained  to  give  forth  this  testi- 
many  against  myself,  for  caution  to  others,  desiring  that 
none  may  be  tossed  to  and  fro,  as  I  have  been ,  sometimes 
holding  this  opinion,  and  sometimes  that  opinion,  and 
sometimes  netiher. 

0  Friends,  how  have  I  been  hurried  from  mountain  to  hill 
in  self -conceited  imagination,  and  in  the  exaltation  of  that 
serpentine  wisdom  in  which  I  strove  furiously  in  the  dark 
night  of  apostacy  that  has  been  over  me,  vainly  endeavoring 
to  overturn  the  way  and  work  of  the  Lord.     In  this, ' '  black- 
ness of  darkness,"  I  find  I  was  a  wanderer  from  the  presence 
of  God,  and  subject  to  all  the  twistings  of  Satan.     But 
blessed  be  the  Lord  who  hath  once  more  extended  his  rod 
of  correction  in  mercy,  and  hath  not  left  my  soul  in  hell, 
but  has  let  me  see  my  dangerous  condition.     Glory  to  his 
holy  name  for  ever!    Now,  Friends,  I  do  assure  you  that 
for  a  time  I  thought  myself  safe,  and  in  that  time  I  abused 
Friends  and  the  Truth,  with  all  the  calumnies  and  oppro- 
brious speeches  and  actions  I  could  invent,  being  persuaded 
by  the  devil  and  his  agents,  that  I  did  well.     In  so  doing,  I 
neither  spared  cost  nor  pains.     But  blessed  be  the  Lord 
who  found  me  out  in  the  height  and  full  career  of  these  blind 
and  wicked  practices.     That  very  day  I  read  that  paper1 
so  irreverently  before  a  great  congregation  there  met  and 
gathered  to  worship  the  Lord. 

To  the  grief  of  my  heart  I  remember  with  what  rigour  I 
introduced  it  in  the  window  where  I  stood.  When  I  had  so 
done,  people  being  gathered  in  the  streets  of  Burlington  into 

1  This  paper  was  a  challenge  from  George  Keith  to  the  yearly  meeting 
then  sitting  at  Burlington,  to  hear  "an  appeal"  which  he  had  printed. 
James  Cooper,  although  the  door  of  the   meeting-house  was  open, 
climbed  up  into  one  of  the  windows,  and  read  part  of  it  whilst  that 
ancient  and  honourable  Friend,  Thomas  Janney  was  at  prayer.     This 
act  he  might  well  call  irreverent. 


250  Hegenb*  of  a  J^ortftem  Count? 

many  companies  disputing,  and  I  as  hot  as  any,  having 
some  respite,  I  went  into  George  Hutchinson's  house,  and 
to  George  Keith  in  a  chamber  there,  where  I  found  him 
alone.  Now  said  I,  "George,  why  art  thou  here,  and  we 
are  at  war  in  the  streets."  He  answered,  knocking  one 
hand  upon  another,  "I  have  done  with  them,  and  I  hope, 
when  we  die,  they  and  I  shall  not  both  go  to  the  same  place. " 
These  words,  at  that  very  instant,  struck  such  amazement 
upon  me,  that  I  trembled,  saying  within  myself,  he  hopes 
well  for  himself,  but  bad  for  them,  surely  this  man  wants 
charity. 

I  say  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  in  the  sincerity  of  my 
heart,  I  am  truly  sorrowful  for  my  outgoing,  and  I  do  con- 
demn, and  let  it  be  condemned,  all  and  everything  that  I 
have  been  concerned  in,  wherein  the  truth  of  God  hath 
suffered  or  his  people.  Particularly  the  late  separation 
with  all  the  whimseys,  and  notions  thereof,  and  all  the  writ- 
ing and  printing  of  that  kind,  and  all  the  scandalizing  and 
laying  open  friends  and  brethren,  whether  true  or  false,  as 
knowing  it  unchristian; — with  all  those  revolution  doc- 
trines,1 and  non-belief  of  the  perpetuity  of  the  damned  in 
hell.  I  desire  that  the  Lord  may  forgive  me;  and  blessed 
be  his  eternal  name.  I  feel  in  measure  that  he  hath.  He 
hath  seen  my  exercises,  and  given  ear  to  my  cry,  when  no 
eye  saw  me  but  his  alone.  Blessed  be  his  name  for  ever.  I 
can  say  he  hath  once  more  given  me  an  earnest  of  his  love, 
otherwise  I  had  sank  under  the  weight  of  my  burden.  O 
he  hath  let  me  feel  his  rod  which  hath  driven  me  to  make 
this  confession.  I  have  not  done  it  of  my  own  will,  neither 
am  I  driven  (thereto)  by  others.  Glory  to  his  name  for 
ever,  can  my  soul  truly  say.  Friends,  I  can  say  to  the 
praise  of  God,  and  in  behalf  of  the  Truth,  that  I  have  felt 

'George  Keith's  doctrine  of  transmigration  of  souls. 


Jfamflp  Jlote*  251 

the  ancient  arm  of  love  to  the  refreshment  of  my  soul,  since 
I  set  my  face  homewards  again,  at  times;  but  in  an  especial 
manner  in  this  great  assembly  (wherein)  the  Lord  made  me 
willing  to  take  shame  to  myself  that  he  might  have  the 
praise,  and  truth  be  cleared.  O  Friends,  take  it  from  one 
that  speaks  his  experience,  and  can  say  the  overshadowing 
love  of  God  is  wanting  amongst  those  that  are  gone  from 
you,  notwithstanding  their  boasting.  What  shall  I  say, 
this  is  the  truth,  and  there  is  not  another,  and  the  panting 
of  my  soul  is  that  the  Lord  may  bring  out  many  more,  as 
he  hath  me,  many  of  whom  I  know  (departed)  through  me, 
and  with  me  fell  into  the  pit  or  gulf.  God  forgive  me,  for 
being  so  forward  an  instrument  in  that  wicked  work,  which 
produced  such  bad  effects,  and  protect  me  with  his  holy 
protection  from  henceforth.  Friends,  great  hath  been  my 
exercise,  since  the  Lord  drove  me  home  again,  all  which  I 
took  patiently,  knowing  my  deserts. 

Now,  Friends,  that  you  will  forgive  and  forget  as  much 
as  in  you  lies,  all  that  I  have  acted,  spoken,  or  done  against 
the  truth  of  God,  or  his  people  in  general,  and  against  any 
particular  Friends;  some  of  which  are  gone  to  their  own 
home.  0  I  desire  when  I  finish  my  course,  my  soul  may 
rest  with  their's,  and  I  desire  I  may  be  received  into  the 
unity  of  the  church.  Your  distressed  brother, 

JAMES  COOPER  JR. 
PHILAD.,  igth  of  Seventh  mo.,  1695. 

This  paper  was  presented  by  James  Cooper  to  the  Yearly 
Meeting  held  in  Philadelphia,  and  the  reception  of  it  was 
minuted.  He  afterwards  became  a  useful  member  of  the 
Monthly  Meeting  of  Philadelphia,  and  one  in  good  repute. 

Esther  Cooper  was  much  made  use  of  in  the  discipline  of 
our  religious  Society,  and  we  can  trace  some  of  her  labours 
in  the  ministry.  In  the  Seventh  month,  1701,  she  was  set 


252          Hegente  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

at  liberty  to  visit  the  meetings  of  Friends  in  Maryland  and 
Virginia,  and  a  valuable  minister,  named  Elizabeth  Key, 
bore  her  company.  In  the  Third  month,  1702,  she  had  the 
unity  of  her  friends  in  a  prospect  of  service  about  Egg 
Harbour,  and  again  she  had  Elizabeth  Key  for  her  com- 
panion. She  appears  to  have  frequently  visited  the  meet 
ings  near  Philadelphia.  We  find  her  with  another  fellow 
labourer  in  the  gospel,  Mary  Lawson,  visiting  the  meetings 
at  Plymouth,  Byberry,  Abington,  and  Frankford — with 
Martha  Chalkley,  at  Germantown,  Groynned,  and  Abing- 
ton. We  can  trace  her  at  these  meetings  many  times, 
sometimes,  having  the  company  of  Hugh  Durborough, 
sometimes  of  his  wife  Elizabeth,  sometimes  of  George 
Gray,  sometimes  of  Sarah  Goodson,  all  of  whom  were 
ministers  in  good  esteem.  We  can  follow  her  in  her  la- 
bours of  love  until  about  the  middle  of  the  year  1706,  after 
which  our  only  trace  of  her  is  this  short  minute. 

Esther  Cooper,  wife  of  James  Cooper,  departed  this  life 
the  1 3th  of  the  Tenth  mo.  1706.  She  was  raised  in  testi- 
mony here. 

The  first  William  Cooper  married  Mary  Groome, 
whose  grandfather,  Samuel,  was  one  of  the  twelve  pro- 
prietors of  East  New  Jersey  in  1681-82;  he  is  described 
as  "Samuel  Groome,  of  the  parish  of  Stepney,  in  the 
County  of  Middlesex,  Mariner."  As  early  as  1676  he 
was  cruising  off  Maryland  in  command  of  his  own  ship, 
probably  looking  for  a  stray  Spaniard,  for  peace-loving 
as  Quakers  were,  they  were  willing  to  smite  the  enemy 
when  profitable  opportunity  offered;  and  perhaps 
" Samuel  Groome,  Mariner,"  was  not  then  a  Quaker. 


Jfamtlp  ifrote*  253 

William  Carter,  Mayor  of  Philadelphia  in  1711,  was 
not  a  Quaker  and  did  not  come  to  America  for  his  soul's 
sake,  but  to  escape  the  penalty,  death,  I  believe,  for 
killing  deer  in  one  of  the  King's  forests.  His  daughter, 
Ann,  married  William  Hibes  and  their  daughter, 
Hannah,  married  the  second  James  Cooper  at  Christ 
Church,  Philadelphia,  in  1750. 

William  Cooper,  of  Cooperstown,  married  Elizabeth 
Fenimore,  daughter  of  Richard  Fenimore  of  Rancocus, 
N.  J.,  December  12,  1774.  He  lived  in  Burlington, 
N.  J.,  until  his  removal  to  Cooperstown  in  1788.  He 
moved  his  family  in  1789,  and  James  Fenimore  Cooper 
was  born  in  Burlington  in  that  year. 

The  Fenimores  came  from  Finmere  originally  Fene- 
mere  or  Fennimore,  Oxfordshire,  England,  and  are 
enrolled  in  Domesday  Book  as  holding  a  manor  of  that 
name,  which  they  held  until  the  sixteenth  century. 

Of  the  five  generations  of  Cooper  men,  who  have  been 
especially  associated  with  Cooperstown,  not  one  was 
born  in  that  village.  Many  of  these  facts  are  from 
an  elaborate  genealogy  prepared  by  the  late  W.  W. 
Cooper  of  Washington  about  1885. 

The  public  activities  of,  and  offices  held,  by  all  of  these 
men  can  be  found  in  Proud 's  History  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Mulford's  History  of  New  Jersey.  Most  of  them 
were  active  in  public  life  and  held  important  offices 
from  time  to  time. 


254          Hegenb*  of  a  JBtorttjern  Count? 

William  Cooper  was  a  great  pioneer;  he  began  the 
settlement  at  Cooperstown  in  1785,  with  about  sixteen 
thousand  dollars  in  cash;  his  inventory  on  November 
1 6,  1797,  was  as  follows: 

Dols.    Cts. 

Total  value  of  lands  unsold  165  788.00 

In  Bonds  and  Mortgages  162  312.00 

328  100.00 
One  share  in  the  New  City  Tavern 

in  Broadway,  New  York  375-QO 

328  475.00 

His  total  land  holdings  aggregated  over  three  quarters 
of  a  million  acres. 

When  he  died  in  1809  he  was  supposed  to  be  worth 
about  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars.  He  made, 
besides  Cooperstown,  large  settlements  at  Williams- 
town  (De  Kalb),  Coopers  Village,  Coopers,  and  other 
places.  He  was  an  active  Federalist  and  was  appointed 
First  Judge  of  Otsego  County  in  1791;  he  was  repre- 
sentative in  Congress  for  the  Sessions  of  December  7, 
1795-March  3,  1797,  and  December  2,  1799-March  3, 
1801.  He  died  in  Albany,  December  2,  1809. 

It  is  said  that,  as  a  youth,  he  ran  away  from  home  on 
account  of  some  disagreement  with  his  father  and  that 
some  of  the  other  of  the  children  went  with  him.  He 
was  a  Quaker,  but  as  appears  from  the  family  papers 
was  expelled  from  that  Society.  All  of  the  Coopers 


Jfamilp  Jftote*  255 

and  Fenimores  were  Quakers.  When  he  left  Burlington 
for  Cooperstown  in  1789  his  wife  at  the  last  minute  sat 
down  in  her  father's  library  chair  and  refused  to  come. 
The  carriage  and  wagons  were  loaded,  and  at  the  door, 
so  William  picked  up  the  chair  and  his  wife  and  put 
them  both  in  a  wagon.  The  chair  is  the  old  Queen 
Ann  arm  chair  now  at  Fynmere. 

Judge  Cooper's  personal  appearance  is  made  fairly 
well  known  to  us  by  his  portraits :  a  Gilbert  Stuart,  a 
John  Trumbull,  and  one  by  an  unknown  artist.  In 
addition  to  these  we  have  his  son's  description  in  the 
letter  from  Canajoharie,  written  about  1833,  and  pub- 
lished in  this  volume,  and  the  following,  quoted  from 
an  address  delivered  at  a  meeting  of  the  Oneida  His- 
torical Society ;  he  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  four  great 
pioneers  of  New  York  State ;  the  other  three  are  Rieter 
Evertsen  Hulst,  Sir  William  Johnson  and  Col.  Charles 
Williamson;  of  William  Cooper  in  1785,  it  says: 

"He  was  then  thirty-one  years  of  age,  in  the  full 
health  and  vigor  of  perfect  manhood,  nearly  six  feet  in 
height,  of  fine  figure,  with  a  rich,  deep  complexion." 

JAMES  FENIMORE   COOPER 

JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER  was  born  September  15, 
1789.  He  married  Susan  Augusta  de  Lancey,  January 
I,  1811,  and  died  at  Cooperstown,  September  14,  1851. 


256  ILtztnte  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

He  was  educated  at  Cooperstown  and  by  Rev.  Thomas 
Ellison,  Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Albany,  until  he 
entered  Yale  College  at  thirteen,  in  the  Class  of  1806. 
He  was  expelled  in  his  junior  year.  His  father  sent 
him  to  sea,  as  a  common  sailor  before  the  mast,  as  a 
preparation  for  entering  the  Navy.  He  spent  one 
year  cruising  in  foreign  waters  and  then  was  appointed 
a  midshipman.  He  resigned  from  the  Navy  at  about 
the  time  of  his  marriage.  He  lived  in  West  Chester 
County,  New  York  City,  and  Cooperstown  until  he 
sailed  for  Europe  in  1826.  He  spent  seven  years 
abroad,  and  on  his  return  in  1833,  took  up  his  residence 
at  Cooperstown  and  lived  there  until  his  death  in  1851. 
In  1826  his  name  was  changed  from  Cooper  to  Feni- 
more-Cooper,  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  He  did  this  in  fulfillment  of  a  promise  made 
his  mother  years  before. 

PAUL  FENIMORE  COOPER 

PAUL  FENIMORE  COOPER,  my  father,  was  born  in 
New  York  City,  February  3,  1824.  He  graduated  from 
Hobart  College,  and  for  a  short  time  attended  the 
Harvard  Law  School.  He  practiced  law  in  Albany 
until  his  death,  April  21,  1895.  He  married,  at  Coopers- 
town,  Mary  Fuller  Barrows,  June  28, 1855,  a  daughter  of 
Rev.  Eleazer  Storrs  Barrows  and  Catherine  Chloe  Fuller, 
one  of  the  daughters  of  Dr.  Thomas  Fuller  of  Cooperstown. 


Jfamtlp  incite*  257 

The  usual  family  genealogist  has  been  active  in  all 
these  families,  and  there  are  books  on  the  Barrows  and 
Fuller  families  and  in  England  one  on  the  Fenimores. 

SIR  WILLIAM  JOHNSON 

SIR  WILLIAM  JOHNSON  was  one  of  the  greatest  and 
most  interesting  figures  in  Colonial  history.  He  was 
born  in  Ireland  and  lived  there  until  about  his  twenty- 
second  year  when  he  came  to  New  York. 

His  mother  was  Anne  Warren,  a  sister  of  Admiral 
Sir  Peter  Warren,  who  brought  him  to  America.  Sir 
Peter  married  Susanna  de  Lancey  ("Sweet  Susan  de 
Lancey  "),  a  sister  of  Lieut.-Governor  James  de  Lancey, 
who  was  my  great-great-grandfather;  and  lived  much  of 
his  life  in  New  York.  He  owned,  in  addition  to  land 
near  and  in  New  York  City,  a  large  tract  in  the  Mohawk 
Valley,  known  as  Warrensbush  or  Warrensborough,  and 
brought  his  nephew,  William  Johnson,  to  this  country 
to  take  charge  of  it  about  1737. 

Sir  Peter  commanded  the  English  fleet  at  the  siege  of 
Louisburg.  He  was  a  very  successful  naval  commander 
and  accumulated  a  large  fortune  in  prize  money.  His 
share  of  the  loot  of  one  captured  fleet  alone  amount- 
ing to  over  three  hundred  thousands  pounds.  He  is 
buried  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

Sir  William  Johnson  soon  became  a  great  landholder 
in  his  own  right;  his  Royal  grant  on  the  Mohawk  con- 

17 


258          Eegente  of  a  JHorftern  County 

taining  thousands  of  acres  and  his  Dreamland  tract  on 
the  Susquehanna  thirty  thousand.  He  was  a  Colonel 
in  the  British  Army,  and  commanded  troops  and  fought 
at  Niagara,  Lake  George,  and  in  other  engagements. 

His  greatest  claim  to  distinction,  however,  was  his 
handling  of  the  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations,  the  most 
warlike,  and  dreaded  of  all  our  Indians.  He  was  ap- 
pointed Indian  Commissioner  by  the  English  govern- 
ment, and  for  years  kept  the  Iroquois  friendly  to  the 
colony.  He  was  adored  by  and  almost  lived  with  them. 
King  Hendrick,  Red  Jacket,  and  Brant  were  his  in- 
timate and  devoted  friends  and  constantly  at  his  home. 

His  first  considerable  house  was  Fort  Johnson,  just 
west  of  Amsterdam  and  his  later  residence,  Johnson 
Hall,  at  Johnstown ;  both  are  still  standing. 

He  had  one  son,  Sir  John  Johnson,  by  Katherine 
Weisenburg,  known  as  his  first  wife;  after  her  death  he 
took  as  his  housekeeper  Mollie  Brant,  the  sister  of 
Brant,  the  great  Mohawk  Chief;  by  her  he  had  a 
large  family.  He  probably  never  was  legally  married. 
There  is  a  letter  in  existence  written  by  James  Feni- 
more  Cooper  which  says  that  Hendrick  Frey,  one  of 
Sir  William's  friends  and  executors,  told  Judge  Cooper 
that  Sir  William  had  told  him  that  he  never  had  been 
married.  His  only  white  son,  Sir  John,  married  Mary 
Watts,  whose  mother  was  Anne  de  Lancey,  a  sister  of 
Lady  Warren. 


Jfamtlp  JJote*  259 

The  details  of  Sir  William's  life  are  told  in  several 
biographies,  and  this  note  is  merely  to  tell  my  descend- 
ants of  their  connection  with  him  and  Sir  John. 

Sir  William  died  just  before  the  Revolution  broke 
out.  Sir  John  was  a  Tory  and  left  an  evil  reputation 
on  account  of  his  attacks  on  the  Mohawk  Valley  set- 
tlers, in  which  he  was  associated  with  Walter  Butler 
and  certain  of  the  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations. 

"TANGIER"   SMITH 

"TANGIER  SMITH,"  so  called,  was  Col.  William  Smith. 
He  was  a  Colonel  in  the  British  Army  at  a  very  early 
age,  and  was  Governor  of  Tangiers.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  a  great  favorite  of  the  King's,  which  accounted 
for  his  early  promotion.  He  married  Martha  Tunstall 
of  Putney,  County  of  Surrey,  at  Tangiers  in  1675.  He 
came  to  New  York  and  settled  there.  He  was  Lord  of 
the  Manor  of  St.  George,  on  Long  Island;  the  Manor  is 
said  originally  to  have  been  fifty  miles  wide  on  the 
ocean  and  that  width  across  Long  Island. 

Among  the  old  papers  in  my  possession  is  one,  yel- 
low with  age,  on  which  are  set  forth  many  details 
of  the  life  of  "Tangier"  Smith;  purporting  to  be 
copied  from  a  book  kept  by  William  and  some  of  his 
descendants. 

One  entry  reads  as  follows: 


260          Hesento  of  a  Jlortftern  Count? 

Col.  William  Smith  was  born  at  Newton  near  Higham 
Ferrers,  in  Northamptonshire,  England,  February  2nd 
1655.  He  seems  to  have  been  in  great  favor  with  Charles 
2nd,  which  was  continued  during  the  reigns  of  James  2nd, 
William  and  Mary  and  Queen  Anne,  Charles  2nd,  in  1675, 
appointed  him  Governor  of  Tangiers — in  1683  he  returned 
to  England  and  embarked  in  trade.  He  arrived  with  his 
family  in  New  York  August  6th  1686 — and  is  supposed  to 
have  removed  to  Brookhaven  1689. 

He  had  a  large  family ;  seven  daughters  and  six  sons. 
One  of  the  latter,  Henry,  "born  in  the  Royall  Citty  of 
Tangier  in  Africa,  was  Joined  in  holy  wedlock  to  Anna 
Shepard  of  Charleston  in  the  County  of  Middlesex  by 
the  Revd  Mr.  Cotton  Mather  and  Col.  John  Phillips" 
in  1704. 

May  23,  1692,  was,  if  the  record  speaks  truly,  a  dis- 
agreeable day  for  "Tangier"  Smith: 

Mr  Smith  &  my  selfe  went  to  ye  South,  ye  nexte  day 
after  wee  came  home  Mr  Smith  was  taken  with  a  pain 
beeloe  his  lefte  shoulder  Blade,  it  continued  to  groe  worse 
&  I  had  thoughts  hee  might  a  sprained  or  hurt  some  vaine 
by  lifting  me  upon  horseback  in  his  armes  it  continued 
and  shout  to  his  left  brest — I  put  ottes  fryed  in  vinegar  to 
his  side  and  he  found  some  ease — then  I  put  wormwood 
fried  to  his  side  and  yt  maide  his  heade  ake  and  maide  his 
side  much  worse  on  Sunday  the  29  of  May  my  dere  Billy 
was  lett  Blud  on  ye  lefte  arme — blead  8  ounces  and  drinkd 
a  porringer  of  muten  brought  &  he  was  not  sicke  when  ye 
blud  stoped —  I  allso  put  a  plastor  to  his  side  whare  the 
pain  was  &  with  the  blessing  of  God  it  was  very  well. 


Jfamilp  Jlote*  261 

He  had  a  bad  time  again  in  September,  1695,  when 
1 '  He  was  taken  with  a  collocke  and  was  ready  to  burst " ; 
he  recovered  and  lived  until  1705,  when  he  died,  only 
fifty  years  old. 

One  of  his  daughters,  Martha,  married  Caleb  Heath- 
cote,  who  came  to  New  York  from  England  about  1686. 
The  cause  of  Caleb's  leaving  home,  and  in  due  time 
becoming  one  of  our  ancestors,  has  been  handed  down 
for  over  two  centuries ;  he  was  engaged  to  a  very  beauti- 
ful girl  and  took  his  elder  brother,  Gilbert,  to  see  her, 
Gilbert  was  afterwards  Sir  Gilbert  Heathcote,  one  of  the 
originators  and  first  president  of  the  Bank  of  England, 
she  may  have  foreseen  the  future ;  in  any  event  she  and 
Gilbert  fell  in  love  and  married.  The  heart-broken 
Caleb  fled  to  the  Colony  of  New  York.  The  lady  was 
Hester  Raynor.  Anne  Heathcote,  Caleb's  daughter, 
married  James  de  Lancey,  Chief  Justice  and  Governor 
of  the  Colony  of  New  York;  James  was  the  son  of 
Etienne  de  Lancey,  a  Huguenot  who  left  France  on  the 
revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  and  his  wife  Anne 
Van  Courtland,  who,  in  turn,  was  the  daughter  of 
Stephanus  Van  Cortlandt  and  Gertruy  Schuyler, 
daughter  of  Philip  Schuyler  and  the  charming  Mar- 
gritta  Von  Schlechtenhorst.  A  son  of  James  de  Lancey 
and  Anne  Heathcote,  John  Peter  de  Lancey,  married 
Elizabeth  Floyd,  and  their  daughter,  Susan  Augusta  de 
Lancey,  was  the  wife  of  James  Fenimore  Cooper.  This 


262         Hegenb*  of  a  Jlortfjern  Count? 

is  the  story  of  our  New  York  Colonial  ancestry,  in 
brief;  you  can  find  it  in  great  detail  in  Jones'  History 
of  New  York  in  the  Revolution. 

The  de  Lanceys  were  Tories  and  all  the  men,  but  one, 
held  commissions  in  the  British  army  or  navy  and  saw 
service  against  the  colonies  in  the  Revolution.  This 
cost  them  their  American  land,  all  of  which  was  con- 
fiscated and  sold. 

An  amusing  story  is  told  of  John  Peter;  he  was  edu- 
cated at  Harrow  and  Cambridge,  and  was  a  Captain  in 
the  Royal  Irish  Fusiliers ;  he  went  back  to  England  after 
peace  was  made  in  1783.  The  Colonel  of  his  regiment 
was  very  overbearing  and  in  the  habit  of  insulting  the 
subalterns.  It  got  to  be  so  bad  that  his  officers  agreed 
that  next  time  he  insulted  one  of  them,  they  would 
draw  lots  and  the  one  to  whom  the  lot  fell  would  chal- 
lenge the  Colonel — a  capital  offense  in  those  days. 
When  lots  were  drawn  the  fatal  number  fell  to  John 
Peter  de  Lancey;  he  promptly  challenged  the  Colonel, 
who,  instead  of  fighting  him,  reported  the  affair  to  the 
Horse  Guards.  John  Peter  knew  that  the  game  was 
up ;  so  he  put  his  family  on  board  a  boat  at  Greenwich ; 
watched  until  he  saw  the  Colonel  coming  out  of  the 
Horse  Guards  and  caned  him.  His  horse  was  waiting 
and  he  made  his  escape  to  Greenwich,  got  on  the  boat 
and  sailed  to  this  country. 

The  irate  King  struck  his  name  from  the  Army  List 


Jfatnilp  Jlotes  263 

with  his  own  hand;  and  John  Peter  avoided  England 
for  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  is  the  portly  man  in  white 
waistcoat  whose  portrait  hangs  in  the  library.  It's  a 
pretty  tale,  and  anyway  the  portrait  is  of  a  man  who 
might  have  done  such  a  thing. 

Years  ago  I  was  told  the  story  of  the  wooing  of  Mar- 
gritta,  wife  of  Philip  Schuyler;  it  seems  that  Philip, 
who  was  big  and  stout,  and  Margritta's  father,  came  to 
blows  on  the  trail  near  Rensselaerwyck,  in  a  dispute 
over  pelts  or  tobacco  or  rum;  Philip  was  winning  when 
Margritta  rushed  to  her  father's  aid  and  beat  up  Philip. 
He  was  so  much  impressed  by  her  fistic  ability  and  by 
her  value  as  an  ally,  in  those  days  of  red  men  and 
danger,  that  he  married  her.  All  this  about  the  year 
1650. 1  can't  vouch  for  the  story  but  it  was  an  old  man's 
tale  when  I  was  a  boy  in  Albany,  where  many  people 
still  spoke  the  Dutch  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
was  told  me  by  a  well-known  local  antiquarian. 


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